Sonic & Shadow
by Jiece18
Summary: Based on Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog. Shadow and Sonic must stand together as Robotnik unleashes his new weapon.
1. Chapter 1

"I'm being watched!" Shadow was standing atop of Angel Island. It was nightfall and he enjoyed the quiet serenity of the tallest point on the planet. It was one of the few places he could actually relax. The stone ledge he was standing on was small. Barely enough for him to lay out on. He grabbed the revolver he had left on the ground. He had little use for weaponry, but he had learned the hard way to exploit any advantage he could. He saw nothing in the sky and he saw nothing down the sides of the mountain. He thought for a moment it could be Knuckles, but the guardian had better things to do than spy on him. And the red echidna wasn't the best at hiding. Shadow felt his quills tingle, "Chaos Control!" He vanished in a burst of blue light as the ledge he was on exploded. He appeared on another ledge several feet away. This one was several feet long and wide. A ball shot out of the air and crashed into ledge. Shadow jumped off as it started to crumble. He used his hover shoes to glide down the side of the mountain. He jumped off and landed in a large ruin. Stone arches and crumbling buildings filled the grassy area. Shadow jumped to the side as the ball slammed into the ground. The ball was blue with a three silver buzz saw blades around it. It sparked as it uncurled into the form of a large hedgehog. It stood just a head taller than Shadow and its eyes shined with red light. Shadow aimed his gun, "Metal. I thought Robotnik would have gotten wise and stopped rebuilding you."

"Mammal! Your rein as The Ultimate Life form is over. But fortuity for you, I am not here to kill you."

"So what are you here for?"

"I'm here to humiliate you!" Metal's left arm shot up and a large red crystal glowed on it. A red beam shot from it. Shadow warped backward as the beam tore into the ground around him. Shadow appeared behind a row of trees. Metal shot out of the trees. Shadow fired several shots at Metal as the bot landed. Metal chuckled as the bullets bounced off, "You think a little pop gun is going to hurt me?" He ran at him.

"Just make you think I'm helpless! Chaos Blast!" His body exploded with red light and Metal was blasted back. Metal crashed through several trees and landed in an old stone building. It shook under his impact and collapsed on top of him.

Shadow chuckled and tossed his gun away, "All that processing power and your still slower than Sonic."

The rubble shook and exploded apart as Metal leapt upward and landed on the ground. His blue and silver armor was dusty, but there was very little damage, "My titanium armor is much tougher than a bunch of rocks." The red crystals on his arms glowed as a red gemon his chest glowed, "Behold my new power!" He vanished.

"Chaos Control!" Shadow tried to move, but Metal appeared next to him and backhanded him across the face. Shadow fell to the ground and rolled to his feet, "You think you can take me on in warp?" Shadow vanished in a burst of blue light. Metal followed. The island was twisted and slightly distorted in what Shadow had named, Chaos Time. Shadow and Metal moved through the island at high speed as they clashed. Metal attacked with his claws and fists as Shadow dodged and countered with kicks and punches. Shadow's hands glowed with green light as he attacked. They two met in the air and attacked with a furry of punches and kicks. Shadow dodged most of Metal's attacks and managed to connect with a number of his. With the chaos energy boosting his attack strength, he managed to do some damage to Metal. But while he was denting Metal. Metal's claws dug into the flesh of his left shoulder. Shadow fell back and curled into a ball. He shot forward and rammed into the chest of Metal. The metal hedgehog was blasted out of Chaos Time and crashed into the ground. Shadow dropped to the ground and appeared in real time. Shadow ignored his bleeding shoulder as he watched the bot stand up. The bot was covered in dents and his eye visor was cracked, "Not bad for a bot."

"You are truly a tribute to your creator." Metal rubbed Shadow's blood in-between his black metal claws, "But you are still only a mammal."

"A mammal who lured you into a trap." Metal didn't have time to respond as a red blur shot out of the trees and rammed a large fist into the bot's face. Metal stumbled back as the echidna stood in front of Shadow.

"You think you can come to my island without my knowledge?" Knuckles cracked his knuckles, "Your going to pay for all the damage you did."

Metal snarled in a robotic tone and whipped his right hand out. A large blade on a chain shot from his wrist and sliced into Knuckles's chest. Knuckles fell to the ground as Shadow jumped over him. The blade retracted into Metal's arm, "Another time!" Metal vanished.

"Will you live?"

Knuckles nodded, "Only a flesh wound." He pushed himself up to his feet, "What was that about?"

Shadow rubbed his shoulder, "A test! Metal has gotten a few new tricks." Shadow smirked, "Lets see what else the good doctor has in store for us." Knuckles scratched his head as Shadow walked off.

* * *

Robotnik sat in a large chair in front of several floating computer screens. The fat man's hands moved at high speeds as his fingers jumped from one floating keyboard to another. He was sitting in a room of complete darkness. A door of light opened and Metal walked through. The door closed and all that could be seen was his glowing red eyes, "Mission Complete!"

Robotnik nodded as he pressed a button on his chair. The screens and keyboards vanished, "Excellent!" A huge side of the room slid away and a window was reviled. It viewed the planet Earth from space, "It looks so small from this distance."

"Everything is small compared to me."

Robotnik chuckled, "Your wit will never cease to make me laugh. Just remember that if you try to betray me again, Boom!"

"Yes my lord!" Metal's robotic voice was full of disgust.

"Good boy!" Robotnik got out of his chair and walked towards the wall. A doorway of light opened up. Metal followed him through, "With the DNA you have gathered from Shadow and Knuckles, my collection is complete." Robotnik walked into a large lab with many holding chambers lining the wall. Each chamber was filled with a black liquid, "Tech Bot!"

A large sphere like object floated in front of Robotnik. It had four clawed metal tentacles and a single red orb for an eye, "My lord!"

"Progress report!"

"We have fused the DNA together and combined it with the nanotech." The bot floated to a large chamber. A ten foot tall echidna was floating in it. He had cybernetic implants all over his body, "While the mind is simple, the computer we integrated into its body will efficiently operate the weapon systems."

"Good! Where is that blue rodent now?"

"West City!"

"Is he alone?"

"No sir! The pink hedgehog was seen with him and a scout drone spotted Rouge nearby."

"Not a problem. Send him!" Robotnik turned and walked out of the lab.

The Tech Bot eye flashed, "Yes sir!"

* * *

"Come on Sonic!" Amy was tugging on Sonic's arm as he tried to pull free. It was noon and he had been running through the city, but Amy somehow managed to catch him. "Lets go see a movie."

"Too long!"

"How about lunch?"

"Already ate!"

Amy pulled out her hammer, "We are going to do something. Whether your conscious or not."

"Where do you keep that thing? It is larger that you."

Amy's eyes narrowed, "That is a very rude question to ask a lady."

"What lady?" Amy let go of Sonic and swung her hammer. Sonic dodged and the hammer crashed into the sidewalk. Sonic eyes widened as the pavement cracked. Sonic managed a chuckle, "Bye!" Before he could start running, a green light flashed in front of him and a ten-foot tall muscular echidna appeared. His fur was reddish black and he had gray metal spots around his body. A red orb glowed on the right side of his chest and he had black eyes. He roared, showing his sharp metal teeth. Sonic nodded, "Why am I not surprised?"

"Target Found!" The orb on the echidna's chest glowed, "Running combat programs!" The echidna roared again and slammed his right fist down. The large fist had sharp spurs like Knuckles. Sonic picked up Amy and jumped back as the fist impacted the ground. Before Sonic could even make a move, a panel on the echidna's right shoulder opened up and a large barrel appeared. It glowed red. Sonic gulped and ran to the left as the barrel fired a large red beam of energy. The beam shot down the street and impacted a large building when the street turned. The build exploded and crumbled to the ground. People screamed and ran as a large dust cloud filled the area. Sonic took off running as the cloud over took the echidna. The orb on the echidna glowed brighter, "Begin pursuit!" The echidna crouched down and jumped fifty feet into the air.

* * *

Sonic shot down several street and stopped when he reached a four way intersection, "What was that?"

"I don't know! But I like where he put us."

Sonic suddenly realized he was still carrying Amy. He sighed and dropped her, gently, "Sorry! But you better hide." He started to turn around to head back. The echidna dropped from the sky and landed in front of the hedgehogs. The force of the impact caused the street to crack and shake. Sonic dropped to a knee as Amy fell on her but, "Persistent!"

"Hedgehog! By order of Master Robotnik, you are to be destroyed."**

* * *

Author Note:** The story is based on the games and I know that the villain is normally called Eggman, but I prefer to call him Robotnik. It just sounds a bit better.


	2. Meeting in West City

"Hedgehog! By order of Master Robotnik, you are to be destroyed."

Sonic stood up, "Give it your best shot!" The echidna raised his fist back to strike. Amy jumped to her feet and leapt up. She jumped off of Sonic's head and flew at the echidna. Before the echidna could react, she swung her hammer and slammed it into the side of his face. The impact echoed around the area and the echidna fell to the ground. Sonic rubbed his head as Amy laughed, "You could warn a guy."

"That thing interrupted our date."

"Yeah, right!" Sonic started to walk towards the downed echidna, "Look out!" Sonic grabbed Amy and jumped back as the echidna's right arm sparked and a Gatling Gun shot out of his palm.

The echidna stood up, "Commence firing!" The four barrels of the red gun spun and fired out a stream of bullets. Sonic dodged side to side to avoid the fire and started to run down one of the streets. Before he got to far, a flash of green light appeared in front of him and a squad of ten fat robots with laser guns walked out of the light.

"Egg Pawns!" Sonic shot down an alley as the red and orange bots open fire. Sonic cursed as he reached a large stone wall, "I hate dead end alleys." He heard a large stomping sound, "Great!" Sonic revved up his legs and ran up the side of the building. The building was ten stories tall and the roof was flat. Sonic landed on the roof and ran across it. The building next store was a few floors higher. Sonic spotted a slanted skylight and ran towards it. He shot off it and landed on the higher building. Sonic set Amy down and looked over the side. The echidna was standing on the street looking around. The ten Egg Pawns ran around randomly, "Lost them for now."

"What should we do now?" Amy straightened her dress.

"Not sure! But I have to stop that thing." Sonic stepped onto the ledge, but Amy grabbed his arm, "Hey!"

"Sonic look!" Amy pointed towards the sky, "G.U.N!" Several robot pods dropped from the sky and flew at the echidna.

Sonic chuckled, "GUN Beetles. About time!" Sonic spotted a few men in brown military uniforms taking positions behind abandon cars, "Alright! Amy stay here! I'll go down and make sure they don't get themselves killed." Sonic jumped down to the lower building's roof. He heard shots being fired as The GUN Beetles opened fire with their gun turrets. At the same time, the men on the ground fired their bazookas. The orb on the echidna's chest flashed and a green transparent energy shield appeared. The shots hit the shield and the rockets exploded. The explosions destroyed the Egg Pawns around the echidna. Before the smoke could clear, bullets streamed out of the cloud and destroyed The GUN Beetles. The echidna stepped forward as the smoke cleared. He brought his Gatling Gun to bare and began firing at the men. The bullets ripped into the cars in-between him and the men and they exploded as the bullets hit their gas tanks. The men started yelling and falling back. Sonic jumped off the roof and curled into a ball. He shot towards the echidna and slammed into the echidna's head. The echidna bent down under the impact and thrusted his head back. Sonic was sent flying through the air and landed on the ground several feet behind the echidna. As the echidna turned Sonic rolled across the street and bounced into the air. He rammed into the echidna's face. His head snapped back and his left fist shot forward and slammed Sonic away. Sonic uncurled and landed, "Damn your tough!"

"Scan complete! Threat analysis of Hedgehog nonexistent." The orb on the echidna's chest flashed, "Running Termination Program!" As the echidna raised its right arm, the orb suddenly flashed again and the shield activated. Four micro missiles shot out from behind Sonic and exploded against the shield.

Sonic turned his head, "Shadow!"

The black and red hedgehog tossed down his RPG Launcher. He walked up and stood next to Sonic, "I didn't expect him to react so fast."

"Got a battle plan?"

Shadow eyes narrowed, "That orb on his chest controls his weapons and shield. All we need to do is take that thing out."

"Good! I like things simple."

Shadow sighed, "Then you can take the lead." Sonic nodded and took off running. Shadow followed behind. The shield dropped and the echidna opened fire. Both hedgehogs dodged the shots and jumped into the air. They curled up and shot at the orb. The echidna's left arm shot up and smacked Sonic into Shadow. Shadow bounced off Sonic and flew over the echidna's head. He uncurled and landed on the ground behind him. He picked up one of The Egg Guns that the pawns had left and fired on the echidna. The laser shots sparked as they hit the echidna's back. He roared and spun around at a speed that even surprised Shadow. His right arm slammed into the hedgehog and knocked him into the air. Shadow crashed into a demolished car. Sonic ran in-between the echidna's legs and shot up. He curled into a ball and hit the orb. The orb cracked under the impact and the echidna jumped back. His left hand grabbed Sonic and tossed him. Sonic landed on the ground next to Shadow.

"That wasn't so hard!"

Shadow rubbed his head, "Yeah! Like this is over."

"Damage to main sensor. Switching to secondary sensors." The echidna roared, "Activating Chaos Accelerator!" The echidna disappeared in a flash of green light.

"It can't be! Chaos Control!" Shadow vanished.

Sonic looked around as green light exploded in front of him and Shadow impacted the street hard, "What happened?"

"He can enter Chaos Time!" The echidna appeared several meters down the street. His shoulder laser active and glowing. "Move!" Both Sonic and Shadow took off running as the laser fired a large red beam of energy. The beam ripped into the street and the surrounding buildings. Both hedgehogs reached and intersection and jumped to the sides. The beam hit a small building and destroyed it. Sonic and Shadow hid behind a building, "Any ideas?"

Sonic scratched his head, "When do you ask me for an idea?"

"When I'm desperate. That thing is strong and fast."

"He must have a Chaos Emerald. If we can get it, maybe we will be able to beat him."

"That is actually a good idea." Shadow spotted a GUN military truck. It had been knocked over and its back doors were open. Shadow ran to it and grabbed two sub-machine guns. He singled to Sonic to join him and he tossed him one of the guns.

"I real don't like guns."

"Learn! We need to distract him until I can figure out where the emerald is." Sonic sighed and nodded. "Good!" The echidna jumped into view and fired his Gatling gun. Both hedgehogs jumped clear as the bullets destroyed the truck. Both of them opened fire. The shield activated and the shots bounced off. Sonic ran around the echidna firing his gun as Shadow stood still with his eyes closed. He was still firing, but he was also trying to find the emerald. His eyes shot open, "He didn't absorb it. It is under his dreadlocks." Both of their guns ran out of ammo. The echidna roared and started firing. Shadow tossed his gun away and jumped into the air. His hand glowed green and tried to punch the echidna. The echidna slapped him down as Sonic jumped onto his back. The echidna twisted his body violently to shake him off. Sonic grabbed onto his dreads and reached into the tangled mass of dreads. He grasped the emerald and pulled. It sparked and the echidna roared. He jumped into the air and fell back. Sonic ripped the blue emerald free. Sonic jumped clear as the echidna fell on the street. Shadow summoned his green emerald, "We must combine our power." Both hedgehogs held their emeralds out, "Chaos Control!" They entered Chaos Time as the echidna stood up. Sonic curled up and spun around his emerald rapidly. Shadow took aim, "Hedgehog Cannon!" The two emeralds exploded with light and Sonic was blasted forward. He glowed with blue light as he flew and he hit the echidna with incredible force. The echidna was blasted back and crashed through several buildings and finally stopped when he hit one of the power relay stations. He crashed into the generators and the building exploded.

Sonic sat down, "That was fun!"

Shadow absorbed his emerald, "Robotnik is up to something." He heard sirens in the distance, "We better get going. We'll need to rest before he makes his next move."

"Right!" Both hedgehogs took off.

* * *

Robotnik mumbled several curses as he and Metal watched what had happened, "Damn that Shadow!" His fist smashed into the consol and the screen went black, "Sonic was as good as destroyed. Now they have my emerald."

Metal chuckled, "I knew the echidna would fail. I am the only one who will kill Sonic." Metal turned around and left Robotnik's lab.

Robotnik toyed with the idea of destroying Metal right then and there, but the android had a point. The fat scientist pushed himself out of his chair and walked through a large metal door. He walked into a small dark room, "The reason I haven't been able to kill that pathetic rodent is that he has allies. Teamwork and all that crap." He walked to a small floating keyboard of light, "Metal can handle Sonic. And I will soon eliminate anyone who will be able to help him." Robotnik hit a button and a red light activated on the ceiling and a large green tube appeared, "Shadow! You're first!"


	3. Darkwood

Sonic yawned and sat up. He and Shadow had stayed at one of the hotels on the outskirts of town. The manager had taken one look at them and gave them the penthouse free of charge. Sonic hated the soft beds and made himself a bed on the floor. Shadow had done the same in the other room. The blue hedgehog rubbed his eyes and walked out of the bedroom and into the large living room. He walked passed the fancy furniture and onto the balcony, "Morning." Shadow was standing on the guardrail with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Sonic sighed and leaned on the rail next to him, "You awake?"

Shadow opened his eyes, "I'm sensing strange energy patterns." He rubbed his head, "but I can't figure out what they are or where they are coming from."

Sonic shrugged as Shadow jumped down, "So what do we do? We can't just wait for Robotnik to make the first move."

"Agreed! But where to start is the key question."

Sonic snapped his fingers, "Tails! We could go to his workshop in Mystic Ruins. He has all kinds of equipment and stuff."

"It's a start I guess." Shadow headed for the door, "Lets get going!"

Sonic rubbed his stomach, "Can we eat first?"

Shadow sighed, "Whatever." He heard his stomach rumble, "Just not Chilidogs!"

* * *

"What is the point of a car?" Sonic and Shadow had left the hotel and the black hedgehog had acquired a GUN armored jeep, "We can run faster than these things. And why don't we just use Chaos Control?"

"Because we can conserve our energy using this." Shadow got into the driver side, "and we can't just use Chaos Control with reckless abandonment. To much and we will start to drain our life force."

Sonic shrugged and jumped in, "but I'm still faster!" Shadow shook his head and started the jeep.

* * *

They had been driving for several hours and Shadow stopped the jeep. They had been driving down a long road in the middle of no where and now they reached a large forest that the road curved away from. Shadow stopped the jeep as the road curved. The forest was called Darkwood. It was large and deep. He got out of the jeep and walked to the edge of the forest. Sonic looked around and got out, "Why'd we stop?"

Shadow's eyes narrowed, "There is strong chaos energy somewhere in this forest."

"A Chaos Emerald?"

"Yes!" Shadow stepped into the forest.

Sonic drummed his fingers on the hood of the jeep, "Wait up!" Sonic ran after him and followed him as Shadow walked through the thick brush, "Any idea where this emerald is?"

"Not sure!" Shadow's eyes narrowed, "but I have an idea." Several Egg Pawns painted with brown and green paint appeared from behind several trees.

Sonic chuckled, "Just as I was getting bored." He ran at the bots and curled into a ball. He slammed into one and sent it into a tree. The bot exploded on impact. The remaining bots opened fire with their lasers. Shadow jumped into the trees as Sonic rolled across the ground and past the group of bots. The robots turned and fired as he rolled away. Shadow spun around and sawed through a thick tree branch. It fell and landed on a couple of bots. Sonic uncurled and bounced off a tree. He hit a bot with a flying kick as Shadow dropped down and slammed his fists into the head of the last bot. Sonic rolled his shoulders, "Not bad for a warm up."

Shadow picked up one of The Egg Pawns' lasers, "Robotnik is planning something in this forest."

"And it must involve a Chaos Emerald." Sonic cracked his knuckles, "Let's move!" Both hedgehogs ran into deeper into the forest. Before they traveled far, more Egg Pawns appeared out of hiding to attack them, "This is going to get real old." Sonic curled into a ball and smashed apart several pawns.

"Don't lose your focus!" Shadow knocked one down and shot three others, "This might be a trap."

"Might!" Metal dropped out of the trees above and landed in-between the two hedgehogs, "I knew you couldn't resist the lure of The Chaos Emeralds."

"So you do have one!" Shadow aimed his gun at Metal.

"I do!" A large ship descended from the sky and hovered over them. A large red rectangle with four green glowing orbs on each point. The orbs blasted out wind that stirred the trees around them. Four metal doors opened up on each side and several figures jumped out of each. The figures were blue and black hedgehogs dressed in red combat armor. Each carried an assault rifle. They surrounded the trio. Metal held his arms out, "Meet the instruments of you demise! Bioandroids created from your DNA. Fast, strong, and deadly. The hedgebots!" The hedgebots took aim with their guns.

Sonic and Shadow looked at each other and shrugged, "So!" Sonic shot forward and knocked down two hedgebots. He then curled into a ball and slammed into a third. The hedgebot fell back and slammed into a tree. The remaining hedgebots opened fire. Sonic ran up a tree and disappeared into the branches.

Shadow jumped high in the air and fired his stolen laser. He managed to blast four of the hedgebots in the chest. Their armor sparked and they fell over. But they were still moving and slowly getting back up. Shadow tossed down the gun, "Need a better a weapon. Sonic!"

"On it!" Sonic sliced into two tree trunks with his spin attack and jumped clear as they fell. The hedgebots were quick, but the falling trees crushed half of them.

Shadow grabbed one of the fallen rifles, "Figures!" The rifle was powered by a cable that connected with the hedgebot. "Let's go!" He dropped the rifle and the two hedgehogs took on into the forest.

Metal chuckled and sharp metal blades shot out of his forearms and he griped them like knives, "The hunt begins!"

* * *

Sonic jumped from tree to tree at high speeds. He tried running on the ground, but the ground was too covered by plants. He and Shadow had split up and decided to meet on the other side of the woods. He could hear the sound of another hover ship and sped up as it fired laser blast at him from its turrets, "Eggman has upped the ante." The ship shot ahead of him and dropped a group of hedgebots. Sonic curled into a ball and blasted through the group as they opened fire. He uncurled and bounced off a tree. He curled into a ball again and crashed into another one. Sonic stood up as the four hedgebots that were still standing took aim. The ones he had slammed down were sparking and bleeding from wounds he had inflicted. He was just thankful his spin attack could penetrate their armor. The hedgebots fired and Sonic jumped up. The bots' shots missed each other. Sonic landed away from the group, "So you guys are smarter than Robutnik's usual troops. That should make this more fun." The hedgebots started to step back. Sonic breathed into his hand and sniffed, "is it my breath." His eyes narrowed as Metal walked out of the foliage, "Metal!"

The android hedgehog waved his hand and the hedgebots walked away, "You think I would let anyone else kill you?"

"Not really!" Sonic crouched down, "but what makes you think you could beat me? I pretty sure our score is four to zip. In my favor."

"You would be correct. But this time will be our final battle. Once I kill you, I will be perfect." He brandished his blades, "The bar has been raised mammal. What do you intend to do about it?"

Sonic smiled, "Break it!"

* * *

Shadow jumped over a few fallen logs and landed in a clearing. He found himself in front of a small river. He scanned the trees and the skyline. "Where are they?" He looked to his right. The river curved out of sight behind some trees. Too his left was a small waterfall that rose up several feet. "This screams trap." He skated towards the waterfall and stopped when he reached the bottom of it. He heard what sounded to be like a girl singing. He slowly stepped closer to the waterfall and a light red female echidna stepped out from behind the water. She looked to be in her early teens and had a pink towel wrapped around her body. She also had a red metal collar around her neck. She didn't notice him and grabbed another towel from a duffle bag. As she started to dry her dreadlocks, she turned and screamed.

"Who are you?"

"I'll answer that when you tell me what you are doing out here in the middle of the woods."

The echidna backed away and sat down on a rock near the falls, "I'm just taking a camping trip with a friend of mine."

Shadow heard a snapping sound in the forest, "Like I buy that."

"Then buy this!" The girl grabbed a green chaos emerald from behind the rock. She held it up and a bolt of energy shot from it. Shadow managed to dodge it, but a green ball shot out of the woods and rammed into him. Shadow fell back several feet and landed on his feet.

The ball uncurled and reviled itself to be a green hedgehog with crimson colored eyes. He wore black and blue sneakers and a gun belt that sported two blaster pistols and several small daggers. The hedgehog smiled, "We've been waiting for you for quite awhile."

"So this was a trap." Shadow backed away, "I'm guessing your more of Robotnik's DNA constructs."

The girl jumped behind an outcropping of rocks as the hedgehog stepped forward. He held up his right fist, showing Shadow the sharp spurs on his fist, "I am much more than a construct."

Shadow rushed at him, "Not in my eyes!"

"Then allow me to pop them out of your head."


	4. Hedgehog War

Metal scrapped his blades together, "After so many years, I will finally kill you."

"Keep dreaming!" Sonic shot forward and curled into a ball. Metal jumped over Sonic as he rolled past. Metal landed on the ground and threw his blades with precision. Chain attached to the bottom of the blades uncoiled as the blades flew. Sonic bounced and dodged as the blades shot at him. Both impacted the ground and Metal pulled them free with the chains. He pulled the blades back into his hands as he gave chase. A small port on his each of his shoulders opened up and a tri barrel gun activated in each shoulder. Laser bolts streamed from the barrels. Sonic uncurled and dodged the shots by jumping behind trees and rocks as he ran. Sonic ran up a large tree as Metal threw his blades. The blades impacted the tree and Sonic landed on the chain. He ran along it and curled into a ball. He slammed Metal in the face with his spin attack. Metal fell back, but his guns kept firing. Sonic uncurled and landed a few feet away. The laser bolts had singed his quills, but he was unharmed. Metal jumped to his feet and pulled his blades free. Sonic's quills vibrated, "You're much faster than the last time we fought."

"I have been rebuilt with hyper metal. It is smoother and can handle any vibration. That and my titanium armor, I am invincible." He tapped his eyes, "Diamond glass!"

Sonic chuckled, "So Robotnik has learned to make you much tougher. Just makes the fight that much more fun." Sonic curled up and used his spin dash to launch himself at Metal. Metal tossed his blades. Sonic uncurled and used his legs to springboard himself into the air. He shot at Metal using his speed from the spin dash and spun around to deliver as spin kick to Metal's head. The android's left hand shot up and grabbed Sonic's foot. The chain attached to his right wrist wrapped around the hedgehog's legs and Metal whipped him into the ground.

"All this time," Metal's left arm spun around and the left chain wrapped around Sonic's leg, "it was your speed." Metal spun around and dragged Sonic into the air. He slammed him into a tree. Sonic cried out and fell to the ground. Metal laughed in a robotic tone, "Without it, your nothing!" Metal pulled on the chains and threw Sonic over his head and slammed him into the ground. The android slowly retracted the chains as he stepped towards the downed hedgehog. He tugged on the chains and the unwrapped around Sonic's legs. The blades retracted into his arms, "I will kill you with my own hands." Metal grabbed his neck with both of his hands. He held the limp hedgehog up, "Finally! After all this time, you're mine."

"Not really!" Sonic's right hand flashed and a blue emerald appeared in his hand, "Shadow taught me a new trick!"

"And what would that be?"

"Chaos BLAST!" The emerald flashed red and a red shockwave exploded from it and blasted Metal back several feet. The android crashed into several trees and the fell. Sonic dropped to his feet. He rubbed his neck, "You're not the only one with a few new features." He reabsorbed the emerald, "That took a little more energy than I thought."

"Nice!" Metal stood up. The front part of his armor was scratched and dinged. His eyes flashed red, "Lets see you try that again."

Sonic's fist tightened, "You caught me off guard. You won't catch me like that again."

Metal nodded, "Good! If you were easy to kill, then all this time we spent fighting would have been wasted." Metal summoned his blades, "Let's finish this!"

* * *

"So does the construct have a name?" Shadow and the green hedgehog slowly circled each other.

"Sperk! Why so interested?"

"I like to know the name of the things I kill!" Shadow ran at Sperk. The two met and exchanged a furry of blows. Punches were exchanged at high speed and the two jumped back, "Not bad for a copy." Shadow curled into a ball and shot forward. Sperk curled up as well and rammed into Shadow. The two spinning hedgehogs pushed each other, but neither managed to move the other. They bounced away from each other and uncurled.

Sperk drew his pistols, "I'm no copy." He fired his guns. Shadow dodged the shots and closed in on the hedgehog. Shadow spun and kicked the guns from Sperk's grasp. As he landed he spun on his heel and aimed a punch to Sperk's face. The green hedgehog managed to grab Shadow's arm and flip him over his head. Shadow hit the ground and rolled to his feet. Sperk chuckled and pulled a pair of daggers from his belt, "You are simply the prototype." Sperk jumped into the air and threw the daggers, "I'm the final product."

Shadow jumped back as the daggers impacted the ground, "Your nothing more than a pretender." The daggers exploded, kicking smoke and dust everywhere. Sperk shot through the smoke and slammed his fist down hard. His fist impacted the ground. Shadow ran out of the smoke and his right fist glowed green. He rammed it into Sperk's face and sent the hedgehog back several feet. Shadow smirked, "Power is useless without skill."

Sperk shook his head and stood up, "It is going to take more than one lucky punch to take me down. Chaos Control!" Both Sperk and Shadow vanished. The two clashed in chaos time at high speeds as they flew through the forest. Sperk's strength advantage pushed Shadow back. Shadow flew past several trees as Sperk followed. They flew up the waterfall and reappeared in normal time. Sperk's quills spread out and he started to glide down slowly as Shadow plummeted, "Nice move! You want to shoot yourself too?"

Shadow vanished in a burst of blue light and appeared above Sperk, "You may have the abilities off Sonic, Knuckles, and me but your too wasteful on your energy." Shadow fell and slammed into Sperk, "I held back just enough to get the upper hand." Both hedgehogs dropped from the sky and crashed into the river bellow. The river wasn't very deep and Sperk hit the bottom hard. Shadow leapt out of the river and landed on the bank, "Final product! You're barely a cheep imitation." He looked around, "Now where did that girl go?"

"Shadow!" Sperk flew out of the river and landed on the opposite side. He looked bruised as hell.

"Still standing! At least my DNA is proving itself."

Sperk grabbed a pair of gold gems from his belt and attached one to a wristband on each arm, "I'm not through yet!" He clenched his fist, "Chaos Surge!" He jumped up and the gems glowed yellow. He exploded with crimson light.

Shadow had to shield his eyes as a wave of light caused the area to shake. He stepped back as the light vanished, "Imposable!" Sperk was glowing crimson and his eyes seemed to burn with red light.

"Witness the ultimate power!" Sperk shot across the leg in a blink of an eye and slammed Shadow down with a punch to the gut. Before the black and red hedgehog could move, Sperk grabbed his leg and flung him several feet down the bank, "I am the ultimate life form." Sperk's hand sparked with crimson light, "You're just my shadow! Chaos Shot! A beam of crimson energy shot from his fist and flew at Shadow. Shadow rolled out of the way as the beam cut into the ground that he was on. The beam shot into the forest and exploded. Sperk started to walk towards Shadow, "Your time has come. I will ..." Sperk dropped to one knee and his crimson light and power died off. The gold gems on his wrist turned black and fell to the ground.

Shadow curled into a ball and rammed into the downed hedgehog. Sperk fell to the ground. Shadow stood up, "You've got power, but that is all you have." Shadow clenched his fist, "Time to end this!" As he raised his fist, a rock shot out of nowhere and slammed him down. The girl echidna held a white chaos emerald in her hands and was floating in the air. Her eyes were glowing a deep green. Shadow stood up, "What is this?"

"YOU WILL NOT HARM HIM!" Her voice echoed through out the area. Green energy shot from the emerald and wrapped around several boulders near the waterfall. They floated up and flew at Shadow. Shadow curled into a ball and managed to avoid the attacks.

As Shadow uncurled and tired to come up with a plan, several GUN Beetles floated down from the sky. They fired at the girl from behind. The girl cried out as the bullets hit her. Sperk suddenly sparked to life and stood up, "Leda!" He ran and caught her before she hit the ground. Sperk glared at Shadow as the Beetles took aim at him, "This isn't over!" Sperk placed his foot on the emerald the girl dropped and vanished.

Shadow started to back away as The Beetles flew at him. But they suddenly stopped and flew into the forest. As they left a helicopter flew over head and hovered near the ground. A man in a black combat uniform opened a door, "Shadow!"

"Yes!"

"I have orders to bring you and Sonic to the President!"

Shadow looked around and nodded. Its not like he had a better idea, "All right!" Shadow jumped onto the helicopter.

* * *

Sonic fell down as Metal closed in, "Your mine!" A pair of rockets shot from the forest and impacted Metal's chest. The android flew back and landed several feet away. As Sonic got up, four GUN troopers with bazookas ran up and stood in front of Sonic.

"When did I start being rescued?"

"The President requests a meeting with you and Shadow. We have already picked up your friend."

Sonic looked at the metal hedgehog slowly standing up. Metal's eyes glowed as he watched the humans take aim for another volley, "I'll be back! Chaos Accelerator!" He vanished in a burst of green light.

* * *

Sonic laughed as he sat down next to Shadow, "So what did you do today?" The two were on a jet heading towards Central City.

Shadow opened his eyes and uncrossed his arms, "Fighting another one of Robotnik's creations. He has two of The Chaos Emeralds."

"Three! Metal had one as well." Sonic cracked his neck, "What do you think he is up too?"

"I don't know. But I do know one thing. He is getting more ruthless." Shadow recrossed his arms and closed his eyes, "We will need to be on our guard."

"Right!"


	5. Robotnik's army

"You failed!" Robotnik was sitting in a floating chair in front of a trio of floating keyboards of light.

"Yes!" Metal Sonic stood behind Robotnik. He toyed with the idea of blasting the fat doctor in the back with his lasers, but he didn't feel like blowing up.

Robotnik nodded, "I don't blame you this time. Even I didn't think GUN would get involved so early in the game." Robotnik started typing and three screens appeared, "The girl was injured, but she will live. Luckily for you."

"Why is she so important?"

Robotnik chuckled, "All will be revealed in time." The fat man pressed several buttons and a large screen appeared. It showed a large mountain with a pair of steel doors in the side of it. "You and Sperk will lead my strike forces so that we may acquire the next piece of my plan."

"As you command!" Metal bowed and stepped out. Metal walked through Robotnik's hidden base and wished he had just kill the man. He hated him for creating him, for blowing his chances at ruling the world, and his inability to defeat a teenager. Metal walked into the small medical ward. Since most of Robotnik's followers had no need for doctors, he had little need for it. But he was himself, human, "Humans are so weak!" Metal spotted Sperk sitting next the girl echidna who was sleeping on a medical bed. Her torso was bandage and she had an IV tube in her arm. Sperk's eyes had turned cobalt blue. "Sperk!" The hedgehog's eyes turned crimson as he turned and looked at the android, "Our lord is sending us on a mission." Sperk nodded and stood up. Both walked out of the ward and towards the hangers.

* * *

Sonic and Shadow walked in-between four human troops as they walked down a metal hallway. They had landed a few minutes ago, but had no idea where they were. The walked up to a gray metal door and it slid open. Both hedgehogs walked into a large command center. It was circular with computer screens and terminals all around the wall. Humans sat at each terminal. A large chair was in the center of the room. It spun around and a man in a blue suit stood up out of it, "Sonic! Shadow!" He walked to them and held out his hand, "Thanks for coming."

Sonic shook the man's hand, "Thanks for the rescue Mr. President!"

The man held out his hand to Shadow, but the hedgehog just shrugged. The man nodded, "Sorry! We have a problem."

"Robotnik!"

The president nodded, "Our satellite images and radar has picked up ships matching Robotnik's energy signature have appeared all over the planet. But we can't seem to keep track of them or figure out what he is up too."

Shadow walked past the president and sighed, "I have an idea!"

"Well don't keep us in suspense!" Sonic quickly ran up next to him.

"He is creating something!"

"How do you figure that?"

"That hedgehog, Sperk called me a prototype. That echidna that attacked you in West City. How Metal Sonic can use Chaos Control. Robotnik is attempting to create something. But what?" The room shook and red lights and alarms went off.

"Report!" The president jumped into his chair.

"A large burst of energy impacted the outer doors." One of the solders at a station brought up a visual on a large overhead screen. A large robot turtle was slowly walking towards them. On the turtle's shell was a large beam weapon.

The screen sparked and Robotnik's image appeared, "People of Earth! I the brilliant Dr. Robotnik have created the ultimate army. To prove my power, I will kill the president of The United Federation. HAHAHAHAHHA!" The screen returned to normal, but the turtle had been joined by six others and a hundred hedgebot troops. Four Egg Warships floated down from the sky and hovered over the army.

The room erupted to life as orders were sent to the defense force. Sonic and Shadow headed to the door. "Hold on!" Both hedgehogs stopped as the president stood up, "GUN can handle this. Send GUN Sentry! I won't let that man have his way."

* * *

The doors on the side of the mountain slid open and GUN troops poured out of the opening. Several black tanks and armored mechsuits rolled out. They took position as Robotnik's forces stopped a mile from the mountain. A large silver humanoid robot stepped out of the base. It had large chain guns on its arms and shoulder rocket launchers. Jets activated in its feet and it flew into the sky. From Robotnik's side, a large metal ball rolled forward. It uncurled and reviled itself to be Metal Sonic. The flying robot stopped and hovered above the android. They were halfway in-between each army. The robot aimed its chain guns at Metal, "I am GUN Sentry! You our outnumbered and outmatched. You have five minutes to surrender."

Metal chuckled, "So there is a human in that shell." His blades sprang out of his arms and he grasped them, "Like I would surrender to a human!" Boosters activated in his feet and he jumped into the air. GUN Sentry fired his chain guns, but Metal moved too quickly and shot above him. Metal threw his daggers and they impaled the rocket launchers on his shoulders. They sparked, but their ammo didn't explode. Metal grasped the chains attached to the blades, "I can't fly, but my technology is far superior to yours." GUN Sentry fired at Metal as he dropped to the ground. Metal ignored the impacts to his arm and tugged on the chains. GUN Sentry set his jets to full burn, but Metal kept him still. The bullets from the guns ripped into Metal's armor, but it held. Metal would have activated his guns, but he couldn't give the flying human a chance to hit a vital system. A green ball shot across the area and shot into the air. It rammed into GUN Sentry's back. The temporary loss in balance was enough to allow Metal to drag the man out of the sky. GUN Sentry crashed into the ground. The ball uncurled into a green hedgehog. The hedgehog pulled four daggers from his belt and threw them. The impacted the ground around GUN Sentry and exploded. Metal nodded and activated his tri barrel cannons in his shoulders, "Took you long enough, Sperk!" Metal retracted his blades as the robot pushed himself up. His once shinny silver armor was dented and burnt. The GUN forces behind him started to move. GUN Sentry flew into the air in an attempt to retreat. Metal sent a radio signal to the turtle tanks. They locked on and fired their plasma burst. The shots hit GUN Sentry and the bot exploded.

"You could have killed him yourself."

Metal glanced at Sperk, "He wasn't worth my time. Attack!" Robotnik's forces moved to attack GUN's.

* * *

"No!" The president shot out of his chair, "He beat our best weapon."

"Second best!" Shadow turned towards the door, "I'll handle them."

"Wait up!" Sonic was quick to follow him.

The president just sat back down and held his head in his hands, "We're counting on you two now."

Sonic and Shadow made it halfway down the hall before a hidden doorway in the wall slid open. The GUN Commander stepped out, "Sonic! Shadow! I have something for the both of you." Both hedgehogs followed the large man in uniform into the hidden room. On a steel table were a pair of foot long metal rods and a pair of guns. The commander picked up the two rods, "These are for you Sonic." He handed them to the blue hedgehog. Sonic pressed a hidden button on each and a blue blade of energy appeared out of each of them. They started at each end of the rods, arched over his fists, and joined to form a pair of three-foot blades.

Sonic swung them around, "I don't really like weapons!"

The commander sighed, "These were designed just for you."

Shadow nodded, "Robotnik is upping the stakes. We will both need to rise to the occasion." Sonic nodded and deactivated the blades.

"These are for you Shadow!" The man handed Shadow the guns. They were made of red and black metal. "These are advance blaster pistols. Capable of automatic fire and single burst fire." Shadow nodded his approval as the commander grabbed a pair of black belts from the wall, "Use these to hold your new weapons and good luck. My troops will offer you whatever help they can." Both hedgehogs left.

* * *

Metal and Sperk ran towards GUN's bases as the two armies fought around them. The metal hedgehog had been repaired.GUN had more troops, but Robotnik's forces were unyielding. Had no concern about their lives or pain. So far they were even. The few troops the two hedgehogs ran into were easily dispatched. They stopped in front of the closed metal doors. Sperk gave a signal to one of the Egg Warships. Hanger doors on the underside of it opened and hundreds of objects flew out of it. They were robotic yellow and red bees. The size of a GUN Beetle, they used jets instead of wings and their stingers held a laser cannon. Robotnik had upgraded these old Buzzbombers and they effectively distracted GUN's robots. With the beetles distracted, five more objects dropped from the ship. They were eight-foot tall black and red echidnas. Dressed in cyber armor, they had a large plasma cannon on their backs. Metal and Sperk stood back as the echidna's pulled the cannons from their backs and took aim at the door. Each one fired a steady stream of green energy at the door. The beams intersected and hit one spot at the bottom of where the two doors connected. Several GUN troops tried to stop them, but Metal and Sperk were quick to intercept them. The echidna's stopped firing and switched their weapons to normal mode. They turned and fired bolts of energy at the GUN troops. A small hole had been burnt through the steel doors. Metal sent a radio signal and several hedgebots curled into balls and rolled into the hole. Metal and Sperk followed them in. 


	6. Battle at GUN Base

Sonic and Shadow rode upwards in a small elevator. The command room they had talked to the president in was sixty floors down from the main hanger where Robotnik's forces were attacking. Sonic test swung his swords around without the blades activated, "I still don't like these things very much."

Shadow shrugged, "It doesn't really matter if you like them or not. What is going on up there should be all the proof you need." Shadow aimed one of his guns at Sonic, "Robotnik is killing people. He is using our DNA to create an army to take over this planet. This is no longer a child's game."

Sonic sighed, "Your right! But weapons aren't really that fun."

Shadow smirked, "So says you." The elevator shook and stopped. Shadow looked around, "The power has been cut."

Sonic activated his blades and cut into the doors. He sliced a large rectangle into the doors and it fell to the floor. They were stuck in-between floors. Sonic sliced into the bottom of the top doors. Shadow pulled them free as Sonic deactivated his blades, "OK! So far, I like these things." Both hedgehogs crawled out of the elevator and stood in a white corridor, "So what floor are we on."

Shadow walked over to wall panel and slid open a wall plate. A small computer screen and keyboard slid out. Shadow typed and the screen lit up, "Main power has been cut to half the base. Some of Robotnik's troops have managed to get past the main guards and infiltrate the base." Shadow brought up a small map, "We are on floor thirty seven."

"How do we get to upper floors?"

Shadow pressed a few more buttons and two small PDA's slid out of a hidden panel. Shadow pulled them free and tossed one to Sonic, "I've downloaded the map and schematics of this place into these. They also double as radios if we get separated."

"It is nice to have the military helping for once." Sonic clipped the small computer to his belt.

"No argument there." Shadow slid the computer back into the wall and both hedgehogs ran down the corridor.

* * *

The GUN troops inside the hanger attempted to push back the invading troops, but more were rolling in through the hole that had been created. Metal cut down a pair of troopers that were guarding the control station to the doors. He held his left arm and a small cable shot from his wrist and smashed into the consol. Green numbers flew across the Metal's eyes and the consol sparked. The doors slowly opened. Metal retracted his cable and walked towards the entrance. He sent a radio signal and a small jet with a large red box attached to its underside. It flew past the battlefield and the box unclamped from the jet. The jet flew out of sight as the box landed in front of Metal. The android pressed a button on the side of it and the side facing the inside of the base fell off. A loud snarling came from the box. Metal pointed towards the GUN troops, "Find Sonic and Shadow." The snarling turned into a roar and a black creature on four legs flew out of the box. It shot past the fighting and went deeper into the base." Metal turned towards Sperk, who was firing his blasters at GUN mechsuits, "Lets move! The sooner we achieve our adjective, the sooner we get out of here."

* * *

Sonic rushed forward and sliced into a pair of hedgebots as Shadow jumped into the air and blasted another two with burst fire from his guns. They had managed to make it to the tenth floor before running into Robotnik's troops. As they ran up the large vehicle hallway that slowly curved its way upward, the wall to their right exploded an a large echidna stepped out. It was followed by six hedgebots. Both Sonic and Shadow stepped back as the echidna aimed its large plasma rifle. It fired a plasma bolt as Sonic and Shadow jumped to the sides. Shadow switched his guns to rapid fire and fired at the echidna. Before the shots could hit, a red and black fox flew out of the hole in the wall and blocked the shots with a large blue energy shield. The fox was about five feet tall and flew by spinning two tails.

"Is there anyone Robotnik didn't copy?"

Shadow glanced back downwards, "Apparently not. Lets get back to the vehicle bay. Maybe we can use on of the vehicles." Both hedgehogs took off back down the hall as the bots opened fire. The reached a large garage with an assortment of GUN ground vehicles. Shadow spotted a small fuel truck, "That one!"

Sonic ran to it and opened the door, "Keys are in the ignition."

"Drive it towards the entrance!" Shadow switched his guns to burst fire as Sonic drove the small truck and parked it in front of the entrance to the bay. The truck didn't fully block the passage. Sonic ran away from the truck as the bots marched down the hall. The opened fire at the hedgehogs. Both Sonic and Shadow dodged so they wouldn't hit the truck. As the group walked passed the truck, Shadow fired a pair of bolts from each gun. The bolts struck the truck and it exploded in a huge red fireball. The hedgebots, the echidna, and the fox were destroyed in the blast. Overhead, the sprinkler system kicked on and it showered the bay with water. Shadow holstered his guns, "That was close."

"Yeah. Come on!" Before Sonic could even take a step, a creature leapt from the wreckage of the truck and into the bay. It shot forward and slammed into Sonic. The blue hedgehog was sent flying and he crashed into the side of a humvee.

Shadow fired on the thing, but it leapt into the air and snarled. It changed shape and landed on two feet. It had changed into an upright cyboernetic wolf. It had black fur, red metal armor, and glowing red eyes. A small silver sphere dispatched from its back and floated up. A large green hologram of Robotnik appeared from it, "Ah my two favorite hedgehogs. I had a feeling you two would still be here so I had my minions bring my latest creation. His name is Ravage and you will soon know why. Die well!" The hologram laughed as it vanished and the sphere exploded. Ravage growled as it flexed his large metal claws.

Sonic slowly pushed himself up, "Any ideas?"

Shadow shrugged, "Kill it first."

* * *

Metal and Sperk rolled through the GUN base with ten hedgebots. The new echidnabots and foxbots were doing the job that Robotnik had created them for. The echidnabot's brought heavy firepower and the foxbots protected the troops with powerful energy shields. There was fighting in almost every corridor on all the upper floors and several of the lower ones. They had used their speed advantage in ball mode to quickly penetrate the base and get past the GUN troops. Metal and Sperk were on floor forty and had reached their goal. A large metal door at the end of a passage. The group uncurled and the hedgebots took up stations around the passage. Metal and Sperk stood in front of the door. "So this is what he wants?"

Metal nodded, "Yes! There is something behind this door that the doctor wants."

"Then lets get it and get out of here. I am tired of doing the doctor's dirty work."

Metal's eyes glowed, "Then we can agree on one thing."

* * *

Shadow let out a borage of automatic laser fire. Ravage jumped into the air and sank his claws into the ceiling thirty feet up. His claws cut into the lights and they sparked. Shadow switched his guns and fired several energy bolts. Ravage clawed out of the way and pulled free. The bolts exploded upon impact with the lights and they died. Lights around the top edge of the garage switched on. With the dim light, sprinklers going off, and the sparks, Shadow swore he was in a rain storm. Ravage landed on top of a GUN jeep. He dropped to the floor and picked the vehicle up. He roared as he flung it at Shadow. Shadow jumped back and fired at the flying jeep. The bolts his the fuel tank and the jeep exploded. Ravage lunged through the smoke and fire. Before he reached the hedgehog, Sonic slammed into him in ball form. Ravage flew across the garage and landed several feet away. Sonic activated his blades, "You ok Shadow?"

"I've been better. This thing is a lot smarter than Robotnik's earlier creations."

"Figures!" Sonic shot at the wolf, "I wondered when he would learn that mindless bots wouldn't work anymore." Sonic spun around and swung his blades. Ravage jumped over the swing and lashed out with his claws. Sonic ducked the attack and thrusted one of his blades forward. The wolf moved to the side, but the blade cut into his chest armor. The wolf slammed his clawed paw into Sonic's face. Sonic fell to the ground. Ravage jumped on top of him and slammed his claws down. Before they hit Sonic, he was blasted off by a trio of energy bolts. Ravage flipped in the air and landed on his feet. Sonic rolled away as Shadow ran up, "Thanks for the save."

Shadow fired again. Ravage's claws glowed yellow and he smacked the bolts away. The red and black hedgehog cursed, "Damn!" Sonic rushed forward and attacked. He let loose a furry of swipes with his energy blades. Ravage blocked each one with his claws. Ravage grabbed the blades and slammed his foot into Sonic's gut. As Sonic fell back, Shadow shot the wolf. The bolts exploded in the wolf's face and he fell onto his back. Shadow switched his guns to auto fire, "Thanks for being the decoy."

"Sure!" Sonic picked up his weapons and holstered them, "Anytime!"

Shadow walked to the wolf and gently poked his head with his gun. The bolts had tore away most of the fur and reviled a metal skull. Blood and oil mixed and dripped from the skull, "How is he doing this?"

"Look out!" Sonic tackled Shadow as Ravage's hand shot up and slammed into the spot Shadow was standing. Both hedgehogs backed away as the wolf stood up. Shadow fired his guns and the energy shots ripped into the wolf. Sonic summoned his chaos emerald, "Sonic Wind!" A blue shockwave shot from the emerald and blasted the wolf away. The wolf crashed into a humvee and landed on the floor. The wolf's fur was stained red and his metal skeleton could be seen. Sparks shot from his body as he stepped forward. "Doesn't this thing stay down."

Shadow holstered his guns, "Then we put him down the hard way." Shadow summoned his emerald. Both hedgehogs touched their emeralds together. Sonic curled into a ball and spun at hyper speed. Shadow floated up as Sonic spun in front of him, "Time to end this. Chaos Control!" Time slowed around them as Sonic blasted forward. He glowed gold as he impacted Ravage. The wolf was slammed back and imbedded into the metal wall. Time returned to normal as both hedgehogs landed on the ground. Shadow smiled, "So much for Robotnik's newest toy."

Sonic grinned, "That was fun!" The room shook as they heard multiple explosions in the distance. "What was that?"

Shadow looked at the floor, "It came from under us." The ground exploded. Both hedgehogs ducked into the exit hall as a red energy beam dug into the ceiling. The beam was bright and they had to shield their eyes.

"What is going on?"

Shadow backed away, "I don't know!"

* * *

Outside, the battle between the GUN Troops and Robotnik's forces was beginning to turn. Robotnik's troops didn't yielded in anyway, but they were outnumbered and were slowly losing. The fighting suddenly stopped as the top of the mountain exploded and a large red beam of energy shot out of the hole. It died off and a large red and gray aircraft floated down from the sky. Twice as large as the Egg Warships, it was shaped like a curved aircraft carrier with large booster engines. Two large cables with clamps lowered out of the ship and into the hole.

* * *

Sonic and Shadow opened their eyes and saw two black cables pulling something out of the hole. Sonic ran over and looked over. "Shadow!" Before Sonic could saw more, a green ball shot out of the hole and smacked into Sonic. Sperk uncurled as Sonic fell back.

"So we meet again."

Shadow shot at him, "Your girlfriend isn't here to save you this time."

"Give it up prototype. Chaos Surge!" His wristbands glowed and he transformed into his crimson super mode. He shot forward at lighting speed and slammed Shadow back. The black hedgehog slammed into the far wall and fell down.

Sonic stepped back, "What are you?"

Sperk chuckled, "I am the world's ultimate life form." He turned away, "And I am the last of your concerns."

Metal jumped out of the hole and fired his wrist lasers. Sonic jumped back as the lasers melted the ground under him, "Hello Sonic."

"So you want to settle this now?"

"Nothing would please me more. However." A large red robot was being lifted out of the hole by the cables, "I have other matters that I need to contend with."

Sperk cracked his neck, "But we will be back to kill you both." He flew up and into the large airship.

Metal jumped up and landed on the robot's head, "You can count on that." The robot disappeared into the airshipand itflew out of sight.


	7. Angel Island under attack

Sonic and Shadow stood in one of the few labs at The GUN Base that wasn't destroyed. The president had been moved to a different location after insuring the hedgehogs that GUN would fully support them if needed. The GUN Commander stood behind a man in lab coat, who was sitting in front of a computer. "So any idea why they stole Diablon?"

The commander glanced towards Shadow and then back to the computer, "No! We had just had it repaired after The Black Arms incident. How or why the doctor knew about it is a mystery."

The man in the lab coat sighed, "Your not going to like this sir!"

"Tell me!"

"Those creatures that Robotnik is using are near perfect clones. He is using Shadow's DNA as a base for each of those creations."

"My DNA!" Shadow moved closer to the screen.

"Yes! Your DNA was designed to fully harness the powers of The Chaos Emeralds. It is extremely adaptable when exposed to chaos energy. He is using that to bond your DNA with others. I think everything he is doing is leading up to something big."

"Explain!"

The man nodded, "The hedgebots and the other troops are phase one. He bonded the different DNA strains together with technology to create near perfect troops. Almost completely with freewill and one hundred percent loyal."

Sonic shrugged, "So what is next?"

"Sperk!" Shadow said the name with disgust.

"Yes! I don't have a sample, but I bet that he created him by bonding all the DNA from you and your friends to a normal strand." The man in the coat typed a few more buttons, "The next step is most likely to be a perfect clone. So far he is bonding DNA together to keep it stable."

The commander cracked his fist, "Damn! Like it wasn't enough that he had better technology. Now he is breeding weapons." He turned towards the hedgehogs, "We will need to work together if we are to stop this mad man." He saluted, "We are counting on you."

Before the hedgehogs could respond, the man in the coat jumped to his feet, "Sir! I have just received a report. One of Robotnik's warships has been detected near Angel Island."

"The Master Emerald!"

The Gun Commander cursed, "If he gets that emerald. Sonic, Shadow! I will have our fastest jet put at your deposal. We must stop him before he gets that emerald."

* * *

Knuckles shot out of the forest and slammed his fist into the face of a hedgebot. The bot smashed into a tree and dropped to the ground. The echidna sighed and looked around. He had gone to sleep as the sun set and was woken up just a few hours later to this attack. His traps were slowing the invaders down, but many were penetrating the island. He had sealed The Master Emerald under its altar and gone hunting. He kicked the downed hedgebot, he had taken out about twenty of the things. "I don't like the fact that you have disturbed my island." He smiled, "But I have always wanted to punch Sonic in the face." He missed the fact that the hedgebots looked like Sonic and Shadow, but he enjoyed it none the less. He turned to ready another ambush, but the forest around him exploded into flame. A large red and black echidna stepped out of the fire. He rushed at him and threw his large fist at him. Knuckles slammed his fist into the ground and flew into the air. He dropped from the air and slammed both of his fists into the echidna's head. The echidna dropped to the ground as Knuckles landed. He shook his hand, "A metal skull? What are these things?" The echidna pushed himself up and pulled his plasma rifle from his back. Knuckles burrowed into the ground as the rifle fired a green bolt at him. Knuckles burst out of the ground behind the echidna and dropped his fist into the echidna's knee. The large echidnabot dropped to the ground and Knuckles jumped on top of his chest. He hammered his fists into the echidnabot's face. After several punches, the bot stopped moving. Knuckles sighed, "Finally!" The echidnabot's face was covered in puncture wounds and was half caved in. A large crash went off and another echidnabot stepped out of the burning forest. "Crap!" Knuckles turned to fight the new opponent. Several flashes of red light exploded behind the bot and he dropped to the ground. His back was charred and burnt. A large red robot stepped out of the forest and into view. Knuckles recognized the symbol on the bot's shoulder, "Omega!"

"I have come to stop Robotnik's plans. Do you wish to assist?"

Knuckles heard several explosions in the distance. They had gotten past his mines, "Sure! Lets take them out."

* * *

Sonic paced the small cargo bay of the jet he and Shadow were riding. It was fast, but they were still an hour away from the island. Shadow was busy searching through data on a laptop he barrowed. Sonic stopped and tapped his foot, "I can't stand this." Shadow glanced up, but said nothing. The blue hedgehog grumbled and ran in a circle for several minutes. He stopped and sat on the metal floor, "How can you just sit there? Our friend is in danger."

"Your friend!" Shadow set the computer on the floor and stood up, "I want to get one thing straight. I am not a part of your little group. I need your help killing Robotnik, that is all. So don't lump me in with your pathetic group." Shadow sat back down and pulled the computer in front of him, "And I am not just sitting here. I am checking a hunch. There is something that isn't quite right about all this."

Sonic laid downed and sighed, "Whatever!"

* * *

Three hedgebots opened fire with their laser rifles as Omega flew at them. The shots bounced off his armor and he rammed into the trio. He grabbed two of them with his clawed talons and flung them into another group of hedgebots. His talons retracted and quad barrel guns popped out of his hands. He sprayed the area with laser fire. He stopped firing and scanned the area, "Cybernetic life forms eliminated!"

Knuckles ran up after clearing his area, "Nice!"

"We must locate The Egg Warship." Omega took a step forward and stopped, "Metal!" The blue metal hedgehog was standing several feet away.

"How many times is Robotnik going to rebuild you?" Knuckles ran at Metal with his fists ready. As he neared Metal, a hand shot out of the ground and grabbed his leg. He was flipped onto his back as a green hedgehog pulled himself out of the ground. He grabbed Knuckles's legs and spun him around. He tossed the echidna into the air. Knuckles spun in mid air and landed on his feet. "And you would be?"

"Sperk!" His crimson eyes flashed, "So what did the boss say?"

Metal chuckled, "We can kill these two!"

"Finally!"

Omega shot forward with his thrusters, "I will terminate Robotnik's robot." He flew past Sperk and went right for Metal.

"An obsolete model! This will be amusing." Metal used his jump jets to jump over Omega as he tried to tackle him. Metal activated his shoulder cannons and fired them as he landed on his feet. Omega spun around and blocked the laser bolts with his armored arms. Omega's arm shot out and grabbed Metal's head. He flung the metal hedgehog around and slammed him into the ground. Omega backed away and activated his hand cannons. Metal chuckled and stood up, "Not bad!" His eyes glowed, "But I can do better."

* * *

Knuckles and Sperk ran at each other and unleashed an assault of punches at each other. Repeatedly, the two slammed into the other's fist. Sperk's agility allowed him to match Knuckles move for move, but after a few impacts of fists, he came to a realization, '_He is stronger than me!_' Knuckles put more power into his punch and it rushed forward. Sperk wisely jumped back as the echidna's fist impacted the ground. It cracked and exploded in a dust cloud. Knuckles shot through the dust cloud and picked up a large piece of earth that had cracked off. He flung it as he ran at the green hedgehog. Sperk smacked it down and pulled one of his daggers from his belt. He threw it at Knuckles.

The echidna chuckled and moved to the side just enough so the dagger flew past, "I'm not that slow." The dagger exploded behind Knuckles and knocked him off balance.

Sperk ran forward and hit Knuckles with an uppercut to his chin. The sharp spurs on his fist just missing his chin. Knuckles landed on the ground and slowly rolled to his feet. "Come on guardian. Prove to me your blood was worth adding to my own."

Knuckles grinded his teeth, "I will crack your head open."

* * *

Metal activated his blades and scraped them together as he waited for Omega to attack, "Lets go!" Omega's eyes glowed and swung his large arms. Metal ducked it and shot at Omega. Omega used his thrusters and flew backwards to avoid Metal. The android threw his twin blades and the chains clanged as the blades flew threw the air. The metal blades impacted Omega's chest. The robot grabbed the chains and tried to pull the blades free. Metal curled into a ball and shot forward. His sharp quills spinning at high speed. He crashed into Omega and blasted him back. Metal uncurled and pulled on the chains. Omega momentum was stopped and he landed on the ground. The blades vibrated and Metal pulled them free and retracted them back. Metal's quills had cut into Omega's armor, but the bot still moved even with his exposed circuits sparking.

"You will not destroy this unit."

The gems on Metal's arms glowed and he shot Omega's head with twin beams of red light. The beams blasted through Omega's head and the bot fell to the ground. Metal walked over and kicked the bot hard enough in the side to dent the armor, "That will teach you that discarded junk has no place fighting me."

* * *

Sperk ducked a punch from Knuckles and rammed his fist into Knuckles's side. The echidna slammed both of his fists into Sperk's back. The hedgehog fell down, but his quills cut into his fists. Knuckles grabbed Sperk by his neck and held him up, "Not so tough now."

Sperk grabbed Knuckles's wrist and rammed his feet into the echidna's face. As the grip loosened, he pulled on Knuckle's wrists and pressed down his feet into his face, "I'm have more at my disposal than your strength."

Metal stepped up, "Finish him! I want to get that emerald and..." A blue and black ball shot out of the forest and slammed into Metal. The android hedgehog was sent flying into the forest out of sight.

Before Sperk knew anything, a pair of fist impacted his face and was sent flying to the ground. A black and red hedgehog stepped forward as a blue one helped Knuckles up. Sperk stood up and wiped the blood from his mouth, "Shadow!"

"Didn't expect me did you." Shadow crouched down ready to attack, "Before I kill you, I will find out exactly what is going on."


	8. Island Escape

Sperk slowly stepped back as Shadow and Sonic stood ready to attack. Metal was no where to be seen and Robotnik's troops were spread thinly over the island. Sonic started to move towards him, but Shadow stopped him, "He's mine!" Sonic nodded and backed off. "I'll give you one chance to get out of this painlessly. Tell me what Robotnik is planning."

"You think a painless death is any different to me than a painful one." Sperk summoned his emerald, "Chaos Control!"

Shadow laughed as Sperk vanished, "You think you can beat me in my own element. Chaos Control!" He vanished in a burst of light. Both Sonic and Knuckles stood silent as they waited for any signs of the hedgehogs. They heard some high pitched crashes and energy sparks. There was a flash of green light and both hedgehogs fell out of the sky and landed on the ground. Shadow was the first to his feet. He had several scrape marks on his body and face. Sperk stood up next. He didn't look injured, but he was breathing a lot harder than Shadow. Shadow took a deep breath, "Ready to tell me what I want to know?"

"From my viewpoint, your losing this fight."

"I may have more injures, but your in no condition to fight. You wasted to much of your energy." Shadow summoned his emerald and his fist glowed yellow, "While I have power to spare!" Shadow pointed the emerald at Sperk, "Chaos Spear!" Several bolts of light shot from the emerald and exploded on contact with Sperk. The hedgehog was blasted back and he rolled across the ground. Shadow ran and pinned him down with his foot. He drew one of his guns and pointed it at Sperk, "Last chance!"

"Yeah! Yours!"

Metal shot out of the forest at high speed and grabbed the gun barrel. He ripped it from Shadow's grasp and gripped his talon around the hedgehog's neck, "As much as I hate to admit this, but I still need this one." He flung Shadow into the air. Knuckles jumped up and caught Shadow before he hit the ground. Metal helped Sperk to his feet, "Your deaths will come soon, our master has a special death in store for you two." His chest gem flashed and he vanished with Sperk in tow.

Sonic laughed, "Yeah right! You guys are just wimps."

"No Sonic!" Shadow sat down, "They are quite capable of killing us."

"WHAT?" Both Sonic and Knuckles stared at the hedgehog.

Shadow crossed his arms and closed his eyes, "I can sense chaos energy. Both of them haven't unleashed their full power yet. So far they are just using a fraction of the chaos power they have."

"So you saying their holding back?"

"Yeah! I doubt Metal is using all of his abilities. He could have crushed my throat, but he didn't. And Sperk, he is purposely over taxing his body. Making it appear that he can't fight for long." Shadow opened his eyes and stood up, "Robotnik wants them to just keep us down. He has something planned. Something big!" The island shook. Shadow cursed, "I hate being right all the time."

"The Master Emerald!" The trio ran into the forest.

* * *

They reached the giant stone altar and nearly froze at the sight. One of Robotnik's Egg Ships had a large clamp on The Master Emerald and was slowly hauling it out of its protective chamber with a large black cable. Knuckles ran up the steps, "Get your hands off my emerald." Knuckles jumped up and grabbed the emerald. He slammed his fist into the clamp. It cracked under the blow, but still held onto the emerald. Knuckles brought his fist back to strike again, but a metal talon grabbed his wrist.

Metal had shot out of the chamber and grabbed the cable, "You didn't really didn't think I would abandon my mission."

"You will not steal my emerald." Knuckles let go of the emerald and rammed his fist into Metal's face. The android released his grip and both fell onto the altar. Knuckles landed on top and continued to slam his fists into Metal's face, "Save the emerald."

Both Sonic and Shadow charged up the stone staircase, only to have it explode under him. Both hedgehogs landed on the ground. Sperk jumped out of the chamber and grabbed a large piece of rubble. He slammed into the back of Knuckles's skull. The echidna fell off Metal and the android stood up. Metal's face was covered in dents from the echidna's attacks. "I kind of like the new you."

"Shut up!" Metal grabbed Knuckles's leg and tossed him off the altar. He landed on the ground next to Sonic, "Take your friend and leave. Your time will come soon!" Both Metal and Sperk grabbed the cable and the emerald was pulled free. The island shook violently and slowly started to fall. The Egg Ship slowly acceded into the air.

Knuckles slowly shook his head, "Damn it!" He stood up and watched the ship vanished, "Robotnik will pay for this."

"Good thing the island will slowly fall."

Shadow glared at Sonic and shook his head, "Yeah right!" A large flash of blue light shot from the Egg Ship and exploded against the island. The island shook harder, "We need to get off this thing."

* * *

"I thought the fat one wanted them alive." Sperk watched the crumbling island from one of the ships view screens. Metal was sitting in a large metal chair. Several wires and cables snaked out from open ports on the android and connected with the machines around him.

"If a simple collapsing island could kill Sonic, he wouldn't be worthy enough for me to kill." Metal's eyes flashed as micro beetle bots repaired his face, "And I am sure Shadow is just as or more resourceful." Sperk shrugged. Metal's eyes glowed blue and all the machines around them shutdown.

"Power failure!"

"No! I have disabled all of the spying equipment." Metal's eyes glowed red in the darkness, "You and I have a similar problem. We are both forced to serve Robotnik."

"And your point would be?"

"If we work together, I could remove that bomb collar from your friend and you could help me transfer my mind to a different robot body. Then we could kill Robotnik and finally be free from him."

Sperk nodded, "I could live with that. The sooner the better."

Metal's eyes glowed blue, "We must plan carefully. Robotnik is an idiot, but he isn't a fool. We will work in the shadows until the time is right." The power in the room came back on, "Right now we must plan for the next fight with our counter parts." Metal's eyes shutdown and the android went into sleep mode.

* * *

Sonic and Shadow could have easily ran off the falling island, but they had to make sure Knuckles got off as well. The injury he had sustained from Sperk had given him a huge headache and he couldn't concentrate enough to glide. The island was falling apart and the trio had to jump onto parts of the island that still had a small charge of the emerald. The GUN jet that had flew them there had to hover a small distance away as the island cracked. Sonic ran up several trees and jumped onto a still floating rock. He spotted what he was looking for. Tails had installed a small catapult launcher for the Tornado on the island and is seemed to be in good shape, "I found it!" Knuckles and Shadow climbed after him and they ran onto the small strip of metal. The area was reinforced with steel so it held together extremely well. Knuckles pulled free a large piece of sheet metal from the launcher's power generator and set it on the catapult. Shadow grabbed a small hand torch from Tails's small tool kit and wielded the piece onto the launcher.

"Good to go!"

Sonic nodded and grabbed his PDA, "Can you get a fix on us?"

"Yes Sir!" The GUN jet positioned itself in front of them launcher. Because of the exploding pieces of island, they had to stay over a hundred yards away from the island while trying to stay level with the launcher as it fell.

All three of the mammals jumped onto the sheet metal and Sonic reached for the button, "This should be fun. He pressed the button and the launcher sparked to life. They had to hold on as the catapult shot them forward at high speeds. They let go as the launcher reached the end of the track and were flung into the air. The jet opened its side door and they fell into it.

Knuckles quickly got up and watched as his island exploded and fell into the sea, "My Home!" The echidna for the first time in his life shed tears.

Sonic griped his shoulder, "We'll get Robotnik back for this. I promise!"

* * *

An hour later as The GUN jet flew towards Mystic Ruins, they got a communication call. Sonic and crew watched a small monitor. Sperk's image appeared, "So you survived. I'm impressed."

Sonic had to hold Knuckles back from smashing the screen as Shadow stepped in front of it. "What do you want?"

Sperk smiled, "Just you! It is time we settle our differences. Meet me in Ruin City seven days from now."

"Robotnik finally let you off your leash?"

Sperk frowned, "I am nobody's dog." He chuckled, "He doesn't even know about this. It will be just you and me. Seven days, Ruin City, bring only what you can carry." The screen went dark.

Sonic managed to sit Knuckles down, "You going?" Shadow nodded and started for the back. "Hey!" Sonic grabbed his arm, "How do you know this isn't a trap to separate us?"

"It isn't!" He pulled his arm free, "He wants to prove to the world he is my superior. I want to show him what a true ultimate life form can do." Shadow smirked, "This fight will be on the level. And I will take great joy and pounding my blood out of his body." He walked to the back cabins.

Sonic sighed, "Well that is just fine for you. But I have to deal with a psycho robot version of me. At least yours is flesh and blood." Sonic sat down, "When will all this end."

Knuckles smashed his fist into the side of the wall, "When we finally put that fat piece of dirt seven feet under."

Sonic gulped, "Great! Now everyone I know has a bloodlust. This is turning out to be a perfect day."


	9. Robotnik's Plan Unfolds

"Sonic!" Tails ran out of his workshop and towards the blue hedgehog. The GUN jet had dropped the trio off in The Mystic Ruins and headed back to GUN base.

Sonic smiled and waved, "Hey little bro!"

"What brings you three here?" Tails spotted Knuckles looking at the ground and grumbling, "Something bad happen?"

Sonic nodded, " Did you here about Robotnik's attacks?"

"Yeah! But I haven't got many details about them. I was about to head out and take a look around."

"Angel Island has been destroyed."

"Oh no!"

Knuckles growled, "I will kill them. I will kill all who are responsible for the destruction of my home."

"Calm down!" Shadow walked towards the workshop, "We won't get anywhere without cool heads."

Knuckles walked towards the cliff edge of Tails's home, "I'll be in the area. I need sometime to think." He glided into the forest.

"I'll go make some drinks." Tails ran into his workshop.

Sonic sighed and walked to the edge of cliff that faced the ocean, "Robotnik! I wonder what your up too. You've had some pretty messed up plans, but this takes the cake."

"And it will just get worst."

Sonic spun around and saw a ball of white light floating in front of him, "Tikal!"

"What you have faced so far is just a small sample of what he is planning. If he succeeds in his ambitions, he will be unstoppable." The ball floated towards the workshop, "I will explain inside."

* * *

After Sonic had rounded up Knuckles, the four mammals sat in the living room of Tails's workshop as Tikal floated in the center of the room. The glowing orb dimmed and brightened as she talked, "Robotnik is attempting to make himself a new body."

"What?" Tails nearly jumped up, "How can he do that?"

"I am not sure, but after observing all that has happened, it is the only conclusion I could come up with. He is slowly perfecting his cloning technique to create something dangerous.

"So everything he has been throwing at us has been nothing but a distraction as he tests his creations."

"To a point. He is using each breakthrough he comes across to create a new weapon to use against you. He has managed to create new technologies and create a powerful army at his command. All while getting closer to his true goal."

Shadow rolled his shoulders, "So! Is he planning on making himself a perfect clone of us?"

"No! He is attempting to create a Chaos clone for himself."

"Chaos! How?"

"He has acquired a small sample of Chaos's life energy. He is using it a base to create his new body."

Knuckles scraped his knuckles along the arm of the chair he was sitting in, "I thought Chaos was sealed in the emerald. So where did he get this sample?"

"It is true Chaos is sleeping in the emerald, but there was a small sample hidden elsewhere. Sealed in the descendant of one of my best friends."

* * *

**_1000 years ago_**

"Where are we going, Tikal!" A pink echidna dressed in a cloth dress chased after a running orange echidna in a similar outfit.

"You'll see!" Tikal disappeared through a set of bushes.

The pink echidna sighed and followed her. Her red eyes widened and mouth dropped open at the sight she saw, "What is this?" A large staircase shaped pyramid altar was in the middle of a clearing. Water flowed down the altar like several waterfalls. A large green emerald slowly spun around at the top of the altar. Several blue creatures were walking and crawling about. The pink echidna slowly stepped out of the forest, "Tikal! Where have you brought me?"

"This is my secret place." She walked over to one of the creatures that was having trouble standing. She held it up so it could walk on its two tiny feet. Tikal smiled as the little creature walked away from her and towards another group, who seemed to be cheering for it, "Come on! They don't bite."

Her friend slowly joined her and both sat on the grass, "What are those things?"

"Chao! I'm not sure exactly what they are, but they are very playful and peace loving." A small blue Chao crawled up to her friend and sat down in front of her. His large eyes blink at her. Tikal laughed, "This is my friend Rena!" Tikal picked up the Chao and held it towards Rena, "Go on!" The echidna gulped slightly and took the Chao. She held him in her arms like a baby. The Chao purred and smiled. Tikal smile grew as Rena put the Chao down and watched it crawl off, "See!"

"This place is wonderful. I wonder why the rest of the tribe doesn't know about it?"

"My father does! But luckily he doesn't dare come here."

"Why?"

"The..!" A loud scream from a Chao interrupted her. Tikal jumped to her feet, "Where did the baby Chao go?"

Rena looked around, "I don't know!" She stood up, "I thought he crawled to others." Tikal ran into the forest with Rena close on her heels. Behind them, the water around the altar started to bubble.

"Chao!" Tikal ran into the woods and spotted a large black wolf. The baby Chao was hiding in a thicket as the wolf attempted to get at him. "Hey! Get away from him!" The wolf slowly turned and growled at the sight of an easier meal. Tikal slowly backed away as the wolf growled louder. A large branch smacked it in the face and the wolf backed away with a yelp.

Rena swung the branch again and the wolf growled, "Get the Chao!" Tikal reached in to the thicket and managed to get the Chao out unharmed. She did managed to scratch her arm up in the process.

"Got him!" The echidna's started to back away, but the wolf lunged forward and knocked Rena down. The echidna did her best to defend herself, but the wolf managed to lock his jaws onto her. As Tikal set the Chao down to help, a jet of water shot through the forest and rammed into the wolf. The jet carried the wolf into the air and the wolf was sent flying into the distance. The water floated over the ground and turned to a humanoid shaped creature. Made of water, it had glowing green orbs for eyes. Tikal set the Chao down and ran to her friend, "Rena!" The echidna didn't move, "Oh no!" The water creature stepped over the fallen echidna. Tikal looked up at it, "Please, Chaos! Help her!" The water god seemed to think for several moments and set its hand on Rena's forehead. A soft blue glow flowed from her hand and into her friend. Chaos stepped back and flew back to the altar. Rena's injury healed and she opened her eyes. They had changed from red to green. "Rena!"

"Did I miss something?"

Tikal shook her head, "No! Come on!" The two returned the Chao to the clearing and went home.

* * *

_**Present**_

"The girl that was with Sperk." Shadow drummed his fingers on the arm of the couch, "Why would he use something so valuable in such a dangerous situation? She was powerful, but not enough to make much a difference."

"There is more going on here than we know." Tails stood up and went to his computer, "He has plots within his plots."

Sonic yawned, "Well, let's see. He sent that stupid echidna cyborg after us. Metal and Sperk kept challenging us, but never tried to finish us. He steals GUN's super robot. And lastly he steals the Master Emerald." Sonic shrugged, "I got nothing!"

Shadow shook his head and stood up, "The only way we are going to get any answers is by me beating them out of Sperk."

"Shadow!" Knuckles stood up, "I want Sperk. He destroyed my home."

"Doubt it! That was Robotnik's doing." Shadow walked towards the door, "I will get some answers. You guys stay out of my way." Shadow left the workshop.

Sonic sighed and put his feet up, "He is walking into a trap. I wonder if it will be fun."

* * *

Relic City was an appropriate name for the place. But after a meteor strike, the once prosperous city, the once towering skyscrapers now stood in ruins. Buildings collapsed or near collapse. The roads were broken and bridges caved in. Shadow waited for seven days and had made sure the others had stayed out of it. This was his fight and his fight alone. He only took his guns and Chaos Emerald with him. It was all he needed. He found Sperk standing alone in what was the city's Central Park. The once beautiful park was full of dead plants and trees. The green hedgehog smiled as Shadow approached him, "Finally!" 


	10. Hedgehog Rumble

Shadow and Sperk stood their ground in Relic City. The ruins around them creaked slightly as the wind picked up slightly. The sun above only sending a few beams of light through the thick clouds overhead. Shadow looked around the destroyed park, "You picked an interesting place for us to fight."

"It provides both of us with a deserted place to fight. I don't want you holding back for anything."

"I never do!" Shadow cracked the bones in his neck, "Lets get this over with." Shadow ran at Sperk. Both hedgehog met in the center of the park in a flurry of punches and kicks. In close combat, Sperk's speed was no better than Shadow's. They locked hands and got into a muscle match. Shadow held his own, but Sperk was slowly over powering him. Shadow clenched his teeth as the green hedgehog started to twist his wrists. He slammed his foot into Sperk's stomach that caused him to release his grip. Shadow grabbed the back of his neck, being careful not to cut his hands and flung Sperk into a tree. He pinned him to the tree and rammed a series of punches into Sperk's gut. Shadow had to wear his opponent down as fast as he could. With Knuckles's powers, Sperk had more strength and stamina. Shadow threw another punch, but Sperk caught it. He pulled Shadow's arm down and rammed his fist into Shadow's gut. He lifted Shadow up with his fist and released his arm. He grabbed Shadow's neck with his free hand and tossed Shadow several feet away. Shadow hit the ground as Sperk curled into a ball and shot at him. The black hedgehog jumped clear as Sperk shot past. Shadow curled into a ball and shot across the ground as Sperk stopped and uncurled. He slammed into his back and knocked the green hedgehog down. Shadow uncurled and jumped back as Sperk pushed himself up. "Your tough, but no real challenge."

Sperk spat some blood from his mouth, "I have more power than you. I am stronger, faster, and better."

Shadow chuckled, "But not smarter. You throw that extra power around so poorly. I thought you were just playing with me, but I guess I was wrong. You are strong, but have no experience in a real fight."

"I've fought."

"But never for your life. Never for something that you truly believed in. I've been through hell and back. Seen the darkest side of evil. Your just some punk who managed to get a free pass. I can respect what Robotnik did to you, you have my pity, but not my respect."

Sperk clenched his fist tightly, "I don't need your respect. But, by the time I am done, you'll wish you just given up." Sperk spun his arms at high speed and burrowed into the ground.

"Spare me!" Shadow jumped onto a tree branch and then onto what was left of the park's boarder stone wall. He heard rumbling under the ground, but saw nothing, "What is he up too?" It hit Shadow and he jumped into the air as the ground under him collapsed. Sperk shot out of the ground and slammed both of his fist into the face of Shadow. The black hedgehog fell back and crashed into a damaged car. Sperk pulled out of his daggers and threw it at the car. It hit the car and Shadow managed to get clear as the car exploded.

"A free pass!" Shadow stood up as Sperk stepped up, "When I finish you off, I'll take out Sonic and then I will be the number one hedgehog." Both hedgehogs curled into balls and shot at each other. They slammed into each other repeatedly as the rolled through the city. They uncurled and ran up the side of a still standing building. The entered Chaos Time when they reached the roof. Both hedgehogs stood on the distorted roof for a few seconds and then attacked each other. In real time large explosions of sound filled the city and rubble exploded as the hedgehogs fought in Chaos Time. In a flash of green light, the hedgehogs reappeared in real time. Both landed on a thin strip of undamaged road. Both of them were breathing hard. Sperk charged at him at full speed.

"Chaos Blast!" Red energy exploded around Shadow and the green hedgehog was blasted back. Shadow quickly closed the gap between them and jumped into the air. He slammed his foot into his back and Sperk hit the pavement hard. The black hedgehog grabbed Sperk's arm and helped him up, "Give it up! You'll never be like me. Tell me where Robotnik is and I might forget the fact I want to kill you."

"You know nothing! Chaos Blast!" Sperk exploded with red energy. Shadow managed to jump clear before the blast hit him.

"Is the best you have all stolen from others?"

"No! This is mine!" Sperk pulled two gold gems from his belt and put them onto each wristband, "Chaos Surge!" Sperk exploded with crimson light and transformed into his super form. Sperk smiled as his energy aura tore apart the ground around him, "Top this! Chaos Shot!" Sperk threw out his fist and a crimson beam of energy shot from it.

Shadow rolled clear as the beam cut into a building and caused it to collapse, '_Just have to stay alive long enough for him to run out of energy._' Shadow took off running as Sperk flew into the air.

"Thats right! RUN!" Sperk fired another beam of energy. Shadow turned and went down an alley. Sperk vanished and reappeared in front of Shadow. He delivered an uppercut to Shadow's chin and sent the hedgehog flying out of the alley. Sperk stepped out of the alley as Shadow picked himself off the ground, "How is this for original?" The crimson hedgehog slammed his fist into the ground and crimson energy tore apart the ground. Shadow took off running as the street and surrounding buildings collapsed and fell into the ancient subway and sewer systems.

Shadow dusted himself off and managed to smile, "Done!" Sperk was back in his normal form and looked as winded as ever. "Chaos Control!" Shadow vanished in a burst of green light. He reappeared in front of Sperk, "Tired?" Shadow threw a kick.

Sperk blocked it and grabbed his leg, "I'm not done yet." He slammed his free hand into Shadow's chest and flung him up. He dropped Shadow and stumbled back, "Damn it!"

Shadow rolled to his feet and rammed his fist into Sperk's face. The green hedgehog hit the ground. Shadow sat down on a piece of rubble, "Not bad!"

Sperk slowly stood up, "I will kill you!" He grabbed his last two gems, "One more time!" Shadow jumped up and grabbed one of the gems, "Chaos Surge!" Both hedgehog exploded with light. Shadow was in his silver super form and Sperk was in his crimson. Both hedgehog's broke apart. Their aura's clashed as the built up their power. They shot forward and their fists impacted. An huge dome of crimson and sliver light exploded from the impact. The force of the blast leveled half of the city. As the smoke cleared, Shadow was lying on the flattened ground. Sperk was still standing. Both were bleeding from multiple cuts. The green hedgehog pulled a knife from his belt, "I win!" Sperk fell to the ground.

Shadow slowly stood up, "I don't think so!"

* * *

Robotnik crushed the computer consol with his fist, "He failed! I aloud him to do as he pleased and he failed." He turned towards Metal, "Prepare my transport. I am going do personally to make sure nothing else goes wrong."

"Sir!" Metal bowed and walked out of the lab.

* * *

Shadow walked with a slight limp, but managed to keep moving. He picked up the dagger Sperk had dropped, "This ends now." The black hedgehog looked at his fallen foe for several moments before he tossed the dagger away, "No! I will not kill you while you are helpless." Shadow turned away, "I will kill you while you are on your feet." He stopped as a green glow appeared in the sky. "Chaos Control?" A green ball of light floated down from the sky and flew past Shadow. It floated over Sperk and transformed into a female echidna. She bent down and touched Sperk's forehead. His body glowed a light green color and healed up.

"You must hate us!"

"You work for Robotnik and your boyfriend really annoys me. Hate may not be a strong enough of a word."

The echidna managed a small smile, "I wish there was a way to apologize for all of this. I am to blame for all of this." He held her palm out towards Shadow and a soft green energy beam flew out and engulfed the hedgehog. The light vanished and all of Shadow's wounds were gone. "Better?"

"Much! What is with the change of heart?"

The echidna touched the collar around her neck, "Robotnik holds the trigger to this bomb. If we didn't do what he said he would have killed me." She stood up, "Please forgive Speed. It is my fault he is the way he is."

"Tell me where Robotnik is and I'll forget about the two of you for the time being."

"I'll answer that!" In a flash of green light, a large red robot dropped from the sky. Standing ten feet tall, the bot had spiked feet and large metal fist. Robotnik was sitting in a cockpit that served as its head. "Surprised to see me?"

"Not really!"

Robotnik laughed, "I had hoped to prolong your suffering for a while longer, but circumstances force me to speed up my schedule." He unclipped a small silver box from his belt, "Leda, I' afraid that you have stepped out of line."

"Hold it Robotnik!" Sonic ran up with Knuckles and Tails close by, "You blow her up and so does your plan."

"Your smarter than I give you credit for." Robotnik returned the device to his belt. He snapped his fingers and a squad of ten hedgebots appeared in a flash of green light, "Kill them!"


	11. Robotnik's Base

Sonic and Shadow slowly backed away as the hedgebots moved in, "These copies are really annoying me."

Shadow clenched his fists, "Then lets show them how the originals fight." Several missiles dropped from the sky and exploded around them.

Robotnik cursed as several black jets flew out of the clouds, "So GUN wishes to interfere." He pressed a button and several small cylinders shot out of his bot and exploded in the sky. A rainbow of flashing lights filled the sky. "You hedgehogs have gotten a reprieve this time. But in ten days I will celebrate our little anniversary by roasting you and your little friends."

"Anniversary?"

Robotnik chuckled, "My greatest enemy and also the stupidest creature on the planet." The robot's arm shot forward and grabbed Leda. Energy sparked from it and knocked the echidna out, "In ten days!" He started to vanish in a burst of green light.

"Not this time!" Shadow signaled to Knuckles and the echidna grabbed the hedgehogs' arms and flung them at Robotnik. They vanished along with Robotnik.

* * *

Sonic and Shadow drifted for a few moments and dropped onto a metal floor. Sonic shook his head, "Where is Eggman?" They were in a long metal corridor with metal pipes lining the walls.

"We were separated from the doctor while in transport. We are lucky we didn't reappear in solid rock."

Sonic shrugged and walked down the corridor and looked out a small window, "I think solid rock it the least of out problems."

Shadow walked to him and looked out the window, "We're on the moon!"

"That explains a lot!" Sonic looked down the corridor, "Well! We have a steel door at each end. Which one you want to try?"

Shadow summoned his chaos emerald, "I will try and locate The Master Emerald." He closed his eyes and held out the green emerald. It flashed with green light as Shadow concentrated. Sonic sighed, sat down, and waited.

* * *

Robotnik sat down in front of a large computer in his main lab as Leda was placed in a large glass cylinder, "Those rodents may have defeated one of my weapons, but my master plan will be their downfall. Soon the power of the chaos god will be mine." A large metal arm with a needle at the end of it slowly descended from the ceiling.

His techbot floated to him, "My Lord! Sonic and Shadow are here."

"Damn those rodents! Dispatch Metal!" The bot floated away, "Wait!" The bot stopped. "Knowing Metal he will destroy most of this base before he kills his target. Use the hedgebots to lure them to shuttle hanger two. Then eject them into space." The bot beeped and flew off. Robotnik's fingers flew over the controls, "Just need a little more time."

* * *

Shadow opened his eyes and dismissed the emerald, "That one!" Both hedgehogs ran to one of the doors and hit the controls. The door slid into the ceiling. A squad of armed hedgebots were standing in front of them.

Sonic quickly hit the controls again and the door closed, "I like the other door."

"No argument here!" They ran down the corridor and opened the other door. They stepped out into a large corridor that was better lit.

"Hey! No clones!" Several laser blasts exploded off the wall.

Shadow rushed at the group, "Let's move!"

* * *

Deep in the base, a pair of red eyes glowed in the darkness, "SONIC!"

* * *

Shadow and Sonic crashed into a group of hedgebots and ran down a corridor, "Tell me again why we are purposely running into every enemy we come across."

"Robotnik is trying to herd us into a trap." Shadow ran along the side of a wall and curled into a ball. He shot across the wall and slammed into a pair of hedgebots as they were coming around a turn, "If we follow the patrols, we will find out target."

Sonic shrugged and activated his energy blades, "Lead the way!"

Shadow drew his guns and the pair slowly made their way through the moon base. After what seemed like hours, the two made it to a large gray metal door. It had a keypad lock next to it. Shadow holstered his guns and pulled out his PDA. He hooked it to the pad and started to work on it. Three hedgebots shot from around a corner and opened fire. Sonic blocked their shots with his blades, "Any time now!"

The door slid open, "Got it!" Both hedgehogs jumped inside and the door slid shut. Shadow looked around, "Looks like the prison level." They were in another long corridor, but this one had cells along the sides. The bars glowed with sickly green colored.

"Sonic! You've come to rescue me." Amy Rose was waving from one of the cells.

"Amy!" Sonic ran over, "How did you get here?"

"Some of Robotnik's troops captured me. You came all this way just to save me. You must really love me."

Sonic gulped as Amy winked at him, "Yeah! Sure! Shadow?" The black hedgehog grumbled but opened the cell. Amy shot out of the cell and tackled Sonic. Sonic fell to the ground with Amy on top of him, "Hey!"

"But my hero deservers a reward."

"No! It is REALLY not necessary!"

Shadow grabbed Amy's arm and pulled her off him, "We need to get moving. It won't take them long to break down that door. Have you seen anything strange?"

"No! Not really. As far as I know I was the only prisoner."

"Good! That means we can blow this place without worrying about anyone."

"Ah, we better make sure to get The Master Emerald! I do not want to be the one to tell Knuckles we destroyed it."

Shadow nodded, "You have a point there!" He redrew his guns, "But the emerald appears to be at the center of this base. And I'm not sure how to get there and get out."

Sonic sighed, "And if you don't know, then we have a problem."

"I have an idea!" Both hedgehogs looked at Amy with puzzled looks. The pink echidna smiled, "All these hedgebots look a lot like you."

"NO!" Both hedgehogs shook their heads, "Not a chance!"

* * *

"I hate your girlfriend!" Shadow grumbled under the makeup.

"She is not my girlfriend!" Amy had used her makeup to disguise the two as hedgebots. Metal pulled from computers had been used to make it appear they had metal armor skin in some areas of their bodies. Amy had scrunched herself into a hollowed out computer core that the pair were carrying on their shoulders.

"What do you mean I'm not your girlfriend?"

"Shush!" Sonic jiggled the core as a pair of echidnabots walked by. Shadow prayed the signal that his PDA was sending would fool their computer brains. The bots glanced at them and kept walking. They reached a pair of large doors and Shadow put his hand on it. He nodded and hit the door control. It slid open and they stepped in. The Master Emerald was connected to a large cylinder that connected the floor to the ceiling. On top of the emerald was a glass tube that held a female echidna, "Leda?"

Shadow nodded, "That is her all right!" The hedgehogs put the core down and walked towards the emerald.

"Guys? I can't get out! Guys?

Sonic ignored her and walked over to the base of the cylinder, "Any ideas?"

Shadow crossed his arms, "It isn't connected to the base. I have no idea what it doing here."

"It is one of the final components." Metal landed on top of the tube, "Only one thing remains and the doctor's plan will come to life."

"And that would be?"

Metal pointed to Shadow, "Locked in your mind is the last bit of information that Robotnik needs. Your creator imprinted all of his knowledge into your mind. Soon that will belong to Robotnik." Metal chuckled, "But none of this is my concern. Sonic is my one and only target. I was made in his image, now it is time to prove I am superior." Metal jumped and landed on the metal floor, "You may go Shadow! I have no desire to fight you."

"I'm not going anywhere. And I want some answers out of you."

Metal laughed and activated his arm blades, "Fine! I will kill you both."


	12. Robotnik's Chaos

Rouge landed on a building top over looking a jewelry story. The story had recently displayed a beautiful Chaos Emerald in its ad. And she was just the bat to take the emerald into her protective custody. She floated down and was surprised to see the front window smashed, "Someone has beaten me here." She slowly stepped through the broken window and looked around. The entire story had been ripped to pieces. She spotted a brown haired woman lying on the floor. Rouge ran over to her, "Can you move?"

The woman slowly nodded, "Be careful! The monster is still here."

"What monster?" Rouge had to duck as a large display case was thrown at her. A green hedgehog with crimson glowing eyes walked forward. He clutched the red emerald in his left hand, "So your the thief!" Rouge reached under her glove and activated a small transmitter, "Any chance you can just hand over that emerald?" The hedgehog responded by lunging at her. Rouge flapped her wings and flew up as the hedgehog flew past and out of the store. The bat quickly flew out and aimed a dropkick to the back of his head. The hedgehog spun around and grabbed her leg. He spun her around and tossed her into the pavement. Rouge rolled away and slowly got to her knees, "Don't you know it is impolite to hit a lady?"

"You are in my way!" The hedgehog drew a blaster pistol from his belt, "Tell me where Shadow is!"

"I don't know where he is!"

"How unfortunate for you." He started to pull the trigger, but his eyes dimmed and he shook his head, "Something isn't right!" He holstered his pistol, "I'll let you go this time." He ran off.

Rouge stood up and brushed herself off, "Not with my emerald." She flew after him.

* * *

"I still can't get out!"

"Shut up Amy!" Both Sonic and Shadow slowly circled Metal as the android stood still.

Metal chuckled, "Your move!" Sonic rushed forward and swung his blades at high speed. Metal's blades glowed with red light and he blocked each attack. Shadow fired several burst shots at the android. Metal pushed Sonic back and jumped over the shots. He threw one of his blades at Shadow. Shadow dodged and switched his guns to rapid fire. Sonic jumped clear as green energy shots flew at the android. Metal reclaimed his blade with the chain and blocked the shots with a whirl from his weapons, "Need to work on your aim!" His gatling guns activated from his shoulders and he fired. Sonic jumped in front of Shadow and blocked the attack. Shadow aimed over his shoulder and blasted a burst shot. It impacted Metal's left shoulder. The gun sparked and shut down. "Not bad!"

Sonic charged, "Your done!" He thrusted, but Metal paired. Metal's blades cut into the energy blades and cut their emitters. Both of Sonic's energy blades died. Sonic shrugged and tossed them away, "Never liked them anyway!" He curled into a ball and rammed into Metal. The android hit the ground, but quickly rolled to his feet.

Shadow looked at his guns and tossed them away, "It is time I was true to myself. I don't need a puny gun to defeat the likes of you."

Metal laughed, "You fools are either very brave or extremely stupid." He clanged his blades together, "I have no reason not to use my weapons." Metal tossed his blades with the chains attached. Both hedgehogs jumped clear and curled into balls. Sonic rolled across the room as Shadow started to spin in place. Metal pulled his weapon back to him, "What is this?" Sonic blasted forward and slammed into Shadow. The black hedgehog shot forward at high speed. Metal tried to dodge, but Shadow rammed into his left leg. The android fell to the metal floor and tried to stand, but his leg sparked, "WHAT! How could I be damaged by one attack."

Sonic summoned his emerald, "You were going up against the ultimate team."

Shadow nodded and summoned his emerald, "He is the most annoying person I have ever seen, but I must admit, together we are unstoppable." Their emeralds started to glow as Sonic curled into a ball and started to spin at high speeds. He hovered in the air and floated in front of Shadow, "Get out of our sight! Hedgehog Cannon!" The two emeralds exploded with light and Sonic was blasted forward. He glowed with blue light and crashed into Metal. Light exploded on impact and Metal was blasted back and impacted the far wall. The metal panels gave away and as the android fell to the floor, part of the wall fell on him. Sonic uncurled and sat down, "I love that feeling."

Shadow shrugged, "To each their own." He looked up at Leda, "I think we should let her out."

"Sure!"

"Are you guys taking about me?" Amy kicked the walls of the computer core.

Both hedgehogs climbed up the cylinder and stood on top of The Master Emerald. Shadow fiddled with the door controls and it slid open. Sonic caught the echidna, she was out cold. "Now what?"

Shadow looked over the emerald, "If we disconnect those power nodes at the base, we can use this thing to use chaos control."

Before they could do anything, in a flash of green light, Robotnik dropped from the ceiling in his robot, "You two are making my plans very hard to complete." Both hedgehogs jumped off the emerald. Sonic laid Leda next to the computer core.

"You saved us the trouble of searching for you." Shadow cracked his knuckles.

Sonic chuckled and walked up next to Shadow, "We took out Metal and Sperk. You've got nothing left."

Robotnik laughed, "Oh I have plenty left. Metal was just a decoy and Sperk was the base of my experiments." He snapped his fingers and red liquid poured out of the cylinder the emerald was on. It formed a large puddle in front of the doctor. He snapped his fingers again and it formed a humanoid shape with glowing green orbs for eyes.

"Chaos?"

"My Chaos! I extracted the life force of Chaos from the girl and created my own god from it. He may still be an infant, but he will destroy the both of you." The Red Chaos turned into a stream of water and flew up to The Master Emerald. Green energy shot from the emerald and the chaos absorbed it. It doubled in size and shot at the hedgehogs. They jumped clear as the water impacted. It dented the metal floor and formed a pillar of water. Hundreds of tentacles shot from the pillar and lashed out. The tentacles whipped out with enough force to slice into the metal walls and floor. Sonic curled into a ball and shot at the chaos. The pillar fell to the floor and Sonic flew over it.

Shadow summoned his chaos emerald, "Chaos Spear!" Several beams of light shot from the emerald. The chaos absorbed the attack and transformed into a large humanlike creature. Red energy sparked around his eyes and shot out at Shadow. The hedgehog dodged the attack as Sonic attacked from behind with a spin attack. The Red Chaos spun around and slammed the hedgehog back.

"Any ideas?"

Shadow shook his head, "He absorbs anything chaos powered. Even if I had my guns they'd be useless."

"The real Chaos's weakness was electricity."

Shadow looked around, "There are plenty of power cables in this room. You distract it and I'll take care of the power."

"Right!" Sonic started to move, "Hey!"

Shadow ran at Robotnik, "That bot runs on a regular power generator. I can use that." The Red Chaos turned to attack, but Sonic charged at it and got the chaos's attention.

"You dare attack me!" The bot slammed its fist down. Shadow jumped on top of it and curled into a ball. He slammed into the bot's chest and it fell to the ground. He uncurled and jumped at Robotnik. The fat man pressed a button and a electric force field activated. Shadow as shocked and blasted away, "Nice try rodent!"

"Thanks!" Sonic ran past the bot as The Red Chaos's arm shot at him. The arm hit the force field and the energy shot from the field and into the chaos. It roared and fell back. Both hedgehogs curled into a ball and crashed through the creature. Both hedgehogs uncurled and landed on their feet. The chaos started to lose it form. "A few more attacks like that and that thing is done." As they started to move to attack again, the doors to the room exploded. A green hedgehog with crimson eyes stepped into the room.

Robotnik laughed hard as his robot got to its feet, "The tables have turned, rodents. Sperk! Chaos! Kill them!"


	13. Betrayal

"Finally!" Amy kicked the metal panel off the computer core and crawled out. She gulped at the sight she saw. Slash marks covered the room and Sonic and Shadow stood in between a red chaos and Sperk.

Robotnik moved his bot back, "Kill them! Kill them now!"

Shadow glanced over his shoulder at Amy and the sleeping echidna, "Sperk!" The crimson eyes glared at him. "Leda is free! I see no reason for you to serve Robotnik anymore."

"Shut up rodent!" Robotnik slammed his fist onto his consol, "Obey me hedgehog. I am the one who gave you your powers. If it wasn't for me, you would still be a pathetic street rodent."

"I have no reason to help either of them." Sperk eyes turned towards Robotnik, "But I have every reason to kill you."

"You ungrateful ingrate. Chaos! Kill him first." The red chaos shot past Sonic and Shadow and flew at Sperk. Before the chaos reached him, Metal suddenly snapped to life and threw his blades. The blades impaled the chaos and energy shot from Metal. The energy flew across the chains and electrocuted the chaos. The red chaos cried out. "What?"

Metal slowly stood up, "Unfortuity for you master. I hate you just a little more than I hate Sonic." Metal activated his thrusters and flew at Chaos. His chains wrapped around the chaos and a energy bubble formed. He picked up the bubble and crashed into into Robotnik's robot, "Sonic! We will meet again. I promise you that!"

"Chaos Surge!" Sperk exploded into his super form. Crimson energy formed around his fist, "Chaos Shot!" He fired out a focused beam of crimson energy that impacted Metal and the bot. The force of the blast pushed the bot into the far wall. Metal activated his self destruct and exploded. The explosion tore a hole into the wall and exposed the room to space. The vacuum started to suck everything out.

"Are you two idiots?" Shadow managed to grab the cylinder in the center of the room.

Sonic revved up his speed and ran at Amy who was being pulled out. Sperk ran forward and grabbed Leda's arm and used his sharp knuckles to latch himself to the floor. Sonic ran up to the emerald as Shadow climbed up. Amy grabbed onto the emerald, "Hold on!" Sonic pulled off one of the power nodes that connected The Master Emerald to the cylinder, "You call!"

"Once we get these things off, we can teleport to The Ark. It is the only place near enough to get to that I know." Shadow pulled off the last power node, "Ready!"

"What about them?"

Shadow sighed, "It would be the right thing?"

"Yeah!"

"I hate doing the right thing!"

Sonic smiled and jumped clear of the emerald. He ran over to Sperk, "I can still run fast enough while carrying her." Sperk slowly nodded and let Sonic pick her up. Both hedgehogs ran at full speed and reach the emerald.

Shadow placed his hands on the emerald, "Chaos Control!" They vanished in a burst of green light.

* * *

The group found themselves in the control room for The Ark. Sonic stretched his arms, "That was fun. You want to do it again." 

Shadow shook his head, "And I teamed up with you why?"

"My dashing good looks."

"Morons!" Sperk stood up and cracked his neck, "Now that Robotnik is gone I can..." Both Sonic and Shadow rammed their fists into Sperk's face. The green hedgehog fell to the floor.

"I enjoyed that!" Shadow walked over to one of the computers.

Sonic chuckled and turned around, "Hey!"

"My hero!" Amy tackled him to the ground.

"And here I thought you guys were in trouble." Rouge stepped into the room.

"Why are you here?" Shadow turned towards her.

The bat smiled and pointed to the downed hedgehog, "He stole my emerald."

"You mean the emerald you were going to steal." Shadow crossed his arms.

Rouge put on her bet innocent look, "Would I steal? And I even called for help." Tails and Knuckles walked in.

"My emerald!" The red echidna jumped over Sonic and Amy and hugged the emerald.

"Ok?" Shadow tapped Knuckles on the shoulder, "If your not to busy, please take our friend to the brig." Knuckles nodded and picked up the out cold Sperk. "And you take her to the med lab." Rouge pouted and picked Leda up. As both left, he signaled to Tails, "I need your help. I am detecting some weird energy readings."

Sonic looked around as everyone went about their business, "What about me?" Amy had pinned him to the floor.

Shadow looked over, "Your on your own!"

* * *

The GUN Commander sat in his command chair that over looked the control room of GUN Base. The repairs were nearly complete, but the lose of life would take months to recover from. Sixty-three dead and nearly a hundred injured. He had just received a report from Shadow stating that Robotnik's moon base was destroyed and the doctor had vanished. Chances were high that he was dead, but they knew luck was never on their side when it came to that. He leaned back in his chair, "How can one man do so much damage? And what was he real motive? I cannot believe that attack on the base was just a test." He slowly stood up, "And where is Diablon?" 

"Commander!" A lieutenant ran up with a small photo.

"Yes?"

"This was taken by our Mars starlight."

The commander grabbed it and looked at it, "Send this image to The Ark!"

* * *

"LET ME OUT OF HERE!" Sperk slammed his fists against the force field. He had woken up only a few minutes ago. 

Shadow stepped in front of the field, "Not so powerful without your Chaos Emerald." He held up one of the gold gems that Sperk used on his wrists, "Fifty gold rings compressed into a small gem. I must give the good doctor credit for this one."

"What do you want?"

"What was Robotnik's full plan? The troops, the chaos, his base, none of it makes sense."

Sperk leaned on the frame of his cell, "You'll just have to find out."

Shadow turned around, "GUN will be here in a few hours to take you into custody."

"Coward!" Shadow turned back towards the cell. Sperk got as close to the force field as possible, "Your afraid of me. Afraid that I can beat you. Afraid that I can kill you."

Shadow smiled, "You want to die in a fight. But I won't let you. You will die in a GUN holding cell. Trapped like the pathetic rat for the rest of your life."

"Damn You!"

Shadow left the brig, "I almost feel sorry for him." He chuckled, "Almost." He walked to the control room. Sonic had managed to free himself and was playing hide and seek with Amy. Tails was sitting in front of one of the computers.

"Hey Shadow!" Tails brought up an image on the large screen, "GUN sent us this image."

Shadow walked over and looked at it, "What is that?"

Tails gulped, "I think I know, but there is only one person here who can confirm it."

"You called?" Sonic ran into the room and shut the metal doors, "I think I lost her in the generator room."

"Take a look at this!" Sonic walked over and he lost some of his color. Shadow stepped back, "What is it?"

Sonic gulped, "I can't believe he rebuilt it." The image was a giant gray metal sphere. It had Robotnik's face on the front of it. "It is The Death Egg! His ultimate weapon."

* * *

**Authors Note: I miss reviews. Did I do something wrong?**


	14. The Death Egg

"How does it look?" Sonic stood next to a huge hole in the floor. The two hedgehogs had gone to The Eclipse Cannon's main energy core. Shadow had peeled off the armored floor and had crawled into the cannon.

"I'm going to kill him." Shadow crawled out of the hole, "The focusing crystals have been removed and the targeting computer is gone as well."

"Robotnik must have removed them. Guess he actually thought ahead on this one." Sonic helped Shadow replace the floor, "Are they replaceable?"

"It would only take me a few hours to program a computer, but those crystals will take several months to make."

"And The Death Egg will be here in less than nine days."

Shadow slammed his fist into his palm, "Then we will just have to meet the doctor halfway."

"Sounds good to me!"

"Hey guys!" Tails's voice sounded over the intercom.

"Yeah!"

"The GUN Commander is calling us."

Shadow walked over to a small computer, "Go ahead!" The screen sparked to life and an image of the commander appeared, "What can we do for you?"

"I have prepared the space fleet and we are ready to intercept Robotnik."

"You guys have a space fleet?"

"It was started just after The Black Arms Incident. We have been using the resources of Venus and have managed to amass a decent size fleet. One large battleship, four support cursers, and at least thirty assault frigates. I am sending a shuttle to pick you and your friends up. I have a feeling you are the only ones who can truly take down that monstrosity."

"We'll be ready."

* * *

"Not bad!" Tails had his face pressed against a view port as the GUN shuttle flew towards The GUN Space Fleet. All the ships were painted red and green with the GUN symbol. The shuttle landed in the main hanger bay of the flagship. A small company of GUN troops had taken over The Ark to watch the prisoner and The Master Emerald. Sonic and crew followed a small robot on wheels through the large corridors. It stopped in front of a large metal door which slid open. They stepped onto the bridge. A large room painted in a dull steel color.

The GUN Commander turned around, "Good! We will intercept The Death Egg in three days. Rooms have been made available on the lower deck. We will have a mission briefing in five hours."

"Can I stay and watch?"

The commander almost smiled as the small fox looked at all the controls, "Of course." The rest left the bridge.

"He sure loves technology."

Shadow nodded, "You little brother has an IQ that rivals even my creator. I'm sure that he will eventually become a great scientist."

"I'll make sure to tell Tails you think so highly of him." Sonic looked around as they walked down the corridor, "Where did Amy disappears to?"

"Miss her?" Knuckles slapped Sonic on the shoulder, "I think your finally starting to like her."

Sonic shook his head, "I just wanted to check where I needed to avoid."

"She and Rouge both took off for their rooms. Mumbled something about a shower." Shadow stopped in front of a door, "Sonic! I would like to talk to you in private."

Knuckles sighed, "I'll see you guys at the briefing."

Sonic watched the echidna walk down the hall and enter his room, "What is eating him?"

"He feels left out." Both hedgehogs entered Shadow's room.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

"I hope your not planning to attack The Death Egg with your usual lack of focus."

Sonic laughed and sat down on a small sofa, "Hey! It always worked before."

"We cannot afford for you to play around. We need to end Robotnik here and now."

"We'll take him down no worries."

Shadow crossed his arms, "No Sonic! One way or the other, we will finish this fight for good."

* * *

The GUN Commander stood over a large table as Sonic and Shadow stood next to it, "Robotnik has no ships protecting The Death Egg, so we must assume that it has some form of defense. While our ships distract him, we will launch troops is special drill vehicles."

"What?"

"We have developed a special ship that will actually tunnel through the hull of an enemy ship. We will use them to get you and our assault troops aboard The Death Egg and take it down. Any questions?" There was nothing but silence. The commander nodded, "Prepare yourselves! This will be the deciding battle."

**

* * *

Three Days Later**

Alarms sounded through the GUN flagship as the fleet approached The Death Egg. Perfectly rounded and roughly a quarter the size of the moon, it loomed over the group of ships. The hull of the sphere was covered with small blisters that housed weapon platforms. As the ships approached, The Death Egg roared to life and a borage of laser and missile was launched at the fleet. Sonic, Shadow, Tails, and Knuckles enter one of the drill ships. The GUN fleet launch waves of space fighters as they launched over a hundred drill ships. Almost ignored by The Death Egg, most reach the hull of the sphere and begin digging. The ship penetrated the hull and the four mammals stepped into a large metal corridor. Around The Death Egg, GUN troops had also penetrated the sphere and were engaging Robotnik's troops. Shadow tossed Tails a radio, "You and Knuckles find the power plant and shut it down. Me and Sonic will find eggman."

"Got it!" The fox and echidna took off.

"So this is it?" Sonic and Shadow ran down the corridor.

"This is where Robotnik's evil ends." Several hedgebots appeared around a turn and opened fire with their laser rifles. Both hedgehogs curled into a ball and crashed into the group. Three were knocked out and the last two were taken down by fists.

"Any idea which way we are suppose to go?"

"I'm not sure. We will have to find a computer. I should be able to find a blueprint."

Sonic nodded, "And if that fails, I'm sure Robotnik won't be able to resist trying to kill us himself."

* * *

Knuckles rammed his fist into a hedgebot and sent it flying. The pair had been taking every corridor that Tails said would lead them to the center of The Death Egg. "Please tell me again why were are moving to the center of this thing? The number of troops are increasing with every step." Knuckles ducked a blaster shot and lunged at another bot.

Tails flew up with his tails and flew over the group of hedgebots. The bots tried to follow him, but it took their attention away from the echidna and he clobbered them. "It makes the most sense to have the power core at the center. This ship's design makes it almost imposable to have it anywhere else."

Knuckles shrugged, "Your the tech wiz. So lead the way!"

* * *

"Could this guy have a bigger ego?" Sonic and Shadow walked into a large arena shaped room. It had a fifty foot stone statue of Robotnik in the center. Sonic chuckled, "I'm going to enjoy this." He curled into a ball and revved up. He shot into the air and was aimed right at the head of the statue. He hit hard and landed at the base of the statue. The head started the crack. The cracks grew and covered the whole statue. Sonic walked over to Shadow and watched the statue, "Its the small things in life that matter."

Shadow slowly nodded his head as the statue began to crumble. "And that is the big thing in life." The stone fell away and a large black and red robot was revealed. It was shaped like a thin human with large hands. It reached out to grab them, but the hedgehogs were quick to avoid it. The bot's huge eyes flashed red and shot out beams of energy. Sonic ran up the curved wall and launched himself at the bot's head. At the same time, Shadow ran behind the bot and attacked the back of the bot's knee. The two hit at the same time and the bot crashed into the wall. Sonic grabbed Shadow's arm and started to spin around. As he reached maximum speed, he released Shadow and the hedgehog shot at the bot like a missile. Shadow curled into a ball and crashed into the bot's neck joint. He slid into the bot and began to rip out what ever wire he could. The bot sparked and collapsed onto the metal floor. Sonic revved up and cut into the bot's metal skin. Shadow climbed out of the hole Sonic had made, "No more smashing statues."

Sonic smiled, "Sorry!" The two continued their search for Robotnik.


	15. Partners

Tails rolled under the legs of an echidnabot as Knuckles brought the clone machine down. They had been moving through The Death Egg for almost an hour. The group of guards they have been running to had actually started to decrease. Impart to the fact GUN had also had about two hundred troops moving through out the battle station. Tails ran onto a large balcony that over looked a large sphere. The sphere was connected to the rounded room by large cables and pipes. Knuckles spotted a small control room and busted down the metal door. There was only one guard and was easily dispatched. Tails sat down and started accessing the computers. "I can't believe he did it."

"Did what?"

"In that sphere is a miniature sun. A powerful unlimited energy source."

"Can we shut it down?"

"No! It is self sustaining. And if we destroy it, we risk destroy the GUN fleet as well." Tails leaned back, "Have you noticed that is has been relatively easy?"

"I did expect a heavier resistance. Any ideas?"

Tails shook his head and began searching the computers, "Something is not right."

* * *

Sonic and Shadow entered another large room. It in the shape of a large dome. At the other side, Robotnik sat on a large throne. "So you have finally arrived."

"Robotnik!" Sonic charged, but hit a green force field halfway to his target.

"You didn't think I would be that easy of a target."

Shadow ran up and helped Sonic up, "Give it up doctor. We are on to your plans."

Robotnik laughed, "You think The Death Egg was the only card I was playing." He pressed a button on his throne and an image of the moon appeared in the air. Part of it opened up and several large pyramid shaped objects flew out of the large hole, "This base was just bait. Say hello to my true trump card. My invincible army."

"What?" Both hedgehogs couldn't believe their eyes.

"Aboard each of those ships are two hundred of my perfect clone troops. Nearly five hundred thousand in all. After the destruction of my first Death Egg, I sent a robotic build team deep into space to construct this improved Death Egg. Every year I sent revisions and upgrades. And it has all come do to this. I will destroy The GUN Fleet here while my troops take over the unguarded planet."

"You have really planed this out."

"You would be amazed what you can do after losing all of your life to a overgrown rodent." Robotnik raised his hand and the ceiling opened, "Of course I did have a little help."

A large black creature with three glowing red eyes and large horns, "Hello Shadow."

"Black Doom!" Shadow wanted to attack, but he was on the other side of the force field. "How did you survive?"

"My Doom Eye carried my mind out of harms way as my body was destroyed. I met with the good doctor and our plans were made. With my genetic engineering knowledge and Robotnik's technology, we were able to create the perfect weapons to destroy you."

"So everything we have face up to now has been just steps."

"Yes! The first clonebot, Sperk and Metal, and finally The Chaos. Slowly we lured you here for your final demise." He floated upwards, "Behold the instrument of your destruction." A large black emerald floated down and Black Doom grabbed it. "This emerald was created thanks to the sample of life force from Chaos and energy from The Master Emerald." Black Doom glowed and transformed into a huge creature. He stood ten feet tall with large claws and fangs.

Robotnik pressed another button on his throne and metal armor dropped from the hole in the ceiling and equipped itself to Doom. "And with the power of The Dark Emerald, your time has finally come." The force field vanished and formed around Robotnik.

Sonic patted Shadow on the shoulder, "You want to take this one."

Shadow shrugged, "Not really. But do we really have a choice?"

"No!"

"Then lets do it!"

* * *

Tails' fingers flew across the keyboards at high speeds as he attempted to find whatever he was looking for. "We have a problem!"

"What?" Knuckles leaned over the chair.

"All around The Death Egg, doors and force fields are being put into place to prevent Robotnik's troops from moving effectively. And the exterior defensives aren't even working at full capacity."

"So we are being lured in!"

"Yes! Someone is planning to blow up The Death Egg and take out the entire GUN force."

"Self destruct?"

"No! But their is trace amount of trajectory vectors. From Earth to us."

"A missile?"

"Even a nuke couldn't scratch the surface of this thing." He slowly stood up, "Oh no! We need to get everyone off this station." Tails ran out with Knuckles close behind.

* * *

Sonic and Shadow broke apart as Doom slammed his huge fist at them. "A plan would be nice!"

Shadow ran around Doom and attacked with a spin attack, "I got us here." Doom spun around and smacked Shadow away. Shadow hit the metal floor and rolled to his feet, "Your turn!"

"Right!" Sonic ran up the side of the room and leapt off. He curled into a ball and shot forward. Doom teleported out of the way and stomped his foot. A purple shockwave exploded around the room. Both hedgehogs jumped clear. "I'm out of ideas." He snapped his fingers, "Lets attack together." Both hedgehogs ran at Doom and rolled under his legs as he swiped at him. Shadow uncurled and grabbed Sonic's free arm. He spun around and tossed the hedgehog at the back of Doom's head. Doom ducked to avoid the attack. As he ducked, Shadow jumped up and slammed his fist into the alien's head. Doom managed to grab the hedgehog with his fangs and tried to bite down. Shadow quickly used himself to keep the alien's mouth open.

"Sonic!" The blue hedgehog ran up the side of the wall again and when he reached the ceiling, he shot down and slammed his spin attack right between Doom's eyes! Doom cried out as Shadow jumped clear. Shadow summoned his emerald, "Chaos Spear!"

Sonic called his emerald, "Sonic Wind!" The wave of blue energy combined with the yellow spears of energy and impacted Doom. The creature was forced back. Sonic curled into a ball around his emerald and spun around at high speed. Shadow curled around his emerald and waited on the floor. Doom started to move towards him. Sonic started to glow with gold light and blasted forward at high speed. He hit Shadow and their was an explosion of gold and silver light. Shadow turned into a bolt of silver energy and rammed into Doom's chest. Black Doom crashed into the wall of the room and the force had cracked the curved wall. Sonic was still revving up and shot into the air. He nailed Doom in his unprotected neck which brought the alien down. He backed away, "That was fun!"

"I'm not finished yet!" Doom slowly stood up. His armor was dented.

Shadow joined Sonic, "We need to hit him harder."

"I really wished we had the seventh chaos emerald."

Doom reared his head back and spat out a black fireball. Both hedgehogs moved clear and he started to breath black fire all over the place. He lunged at Shadow, "Die!" As he neared Shadow, Sonic jumped over him and slammed into the alien's back. Doom fell down at Shadow's feet. Shadow curled into a ball and rammed into Doom's head. Both hedgehog's backed away as Doom slowly rose to his feet, "How? I have the most powerful source of energy in the galaxy."

"You can power up until you explode, but you will never beat our combined might."

Sonic chuckled, "So you might want to throw in the towel."

"I will never give in to the likes of you." As Doom charged, a green force field blocked him. "What is this Robotnik?"

"I didn't do it!"

"It was me!" An image of a robotic hedgehog appeared on the far wall, "Hello Sonic. Miss me?"

"I thought we took you down."

"That was a pathetic copy. Do you think I am foolish enough to lose so easily? I have been aware of this station long before Robotnik teamed up with Black Doom. Over the past year I have been planning my escape from this retched existence of servitude and at the same time destroy all of my enemies." The door that lead out opened, "You may leave Sonic, I will kill you myself."

"How do you plan on carrying out this plan?" Robotnik stood up, "This station cannot be destroyed by you."

"Not by me of course! But Shadow knows how I plan to do it."

"The Eclipse Cannon! But how?"

"I removed the crystals, but gave Robotnik fake ones to destroy. And thanks to The Master Emerald, the weapon is fully capable of destroying this station and the GUN fleet." The screen split and the control room to The Eclipse Cannon appeared next to Metal's image.

A green hedgehog sat down in the main chair, "Hi guys! Robotnik, consider this my thanks for all that you have done for me." The screen vanished.

Metal laughed, "Good bye doctor!" The image vanished.

"METAL!" Robotnik slammed his fists against the force field.

"Sonic!" Shadow and Sonic ran out of the room.

* * *

In Earth's orbit, The Ark sparked to life as The Eclipse Cannon repositioned itself. The cannon glowed brightly and fired. 


	16. Battle in Space

Alarms filled The Death Egg as Sonic and Shadow ran through the corridors. They ran into a few of Robotnik's troops, but most of them were either shutdown or attacking each other. "Guess Metal messed with their programming too."

Shadow nodded as they turned a corner, "Fortunately Metal's desire to kill you has spared us the fate of this base. Remind yourself to thank him before you destroy him."

"Sounds fair! So any idea how we get off this thing?"

"As long as we are not cut off from it, we should be able to use the drill shuttle we took to get here." They ran down a long corridor and a large metal door started to lower from the ceiling. "Perfect!" Both hedgehogs slid under the door as it shut. "We won't make it at this rate. If we can at least get to the surface we can use Chaos Control."

"What about Tails and the others?"

"No time!" As the hedgehogs continued their escape, The Eclipse Cannon impacted the base. The base shook violently and they were thrown off their feet. Shadow closed his eyes and reached out with his mind, "The energy from the blast is coming from our right." He opened his eyes and helped Sonic up, "This way!"

"Shouldn't we be running away from the blast?" Shadow ignored him and took off down a large hallway. "Why me?" He followed Shadow down the hall and the pair reached a heavy blast door.

Shadow ripped open a small computer panel and tore out the wires, "I suggest you take a deep breath."

"Just a sec!" Sonic tried to stop Shadow, but the black hedgehog had already activated the door. It slid open and the two were sucked down another hall.

Shadow grabbed Sonic's hand as they fell into the vacuum of space. He had a split second to spot one of GUN's ships. The two vanished in a burst of green light. The two fell down inside one of the ship's cargo bays. Shadow ran to one of the portholes, "Not a bad shot." There was a huge crater almost two miles wide on the surface of The Death Egg.

"Brace for another shot." A loud voice sounded over the intercom as the ship shook. A large green beam of light shot past and hit the station in the same spot as the first.

When the light died away, Shadow could see inside the base. A large yellow orb of fire was shinning in the center of The Death Egg. "A miniature sun! I can't believe he managed to create something so powerful." The ship shook once again as a third beam shot past and impacted the sun. The sun flared up and exploded. The resulting shockwave slammed into The GUN Fleet and sent it flying in all directions. The two hedgehogs were thrown off their feet and slammed into the side of the room.

Sonic pushed himself up as the shaking stopped, "Shadow?"

"I'm alive." Shadow stood up and shook his head, "We're dam lucky to be alive."

"I hope the others are all right."

"Let's find out!" Both hedgehogs ran out of the cargo bay.

* * *

The GUN Commander sat down in his conference room. It had been only one hour since the explosion and it was only the quick thinking of Tails that saved his fleet. They had managed to withdraw their troops and get some distance away before The Death Egg exploded. Sonic, Shadow, Tails, and Knuckles sat with him in the room. "First I would like to extend my gratitude to Tails for saving our lives."

"Way to go, bro." Sonic gave the smiling fox a high-five.

Shadow gave Tails a nod of approval, "Even I didn't see what was so apparent. Good work."

The commander sighed, "But the blast did damage our ships. We will not be able to make it back to Earth in time to stop Robotnik's invasion. I am open to any suggestions." The room was quiet.

Knuckles rubbed his chin, "I have a plan! We have six of the seven Chaos Emeralds. I might be able to link them with The Master Emerald on the Ark."

"Then Shadow and me can use Chaos Control to get there."

"But what will we do when we get there. The Eclipse Cannon has probably overloaded from firing at a target so far outside its range."

Knuckles tapped his knuckles against the table, "I will allow you two to use The Master Emerald. Even split between to two of you, you will have more than enough power to destroy invasion ships."

"Thanks Knuckles!"

The echidna gave Sonic a warning glare, "Just bring it back in one piece."

* * *

Sonic and Shadow sat on the floor with the six Chaos Emeralds placed in a circle around them. Knuckles sat cross-legged in front of them. "As soon as I establish the link, you two will need to concentrate on The Ark." Both hedgehogs nodded. Knuckles took a deep breath and held his hands up, "The servers are the chaos. Chaos is power, power that is enriched by the heart. The controller unifies the chaos, please help us in this time of need." The six Chaos Emeralds glowed brightly and floated into the air. The spun around at high speeds. In a flash of light, Sonic, Shadow, and the emeralds vanished. Knuckles fell to the floor, "I'm going to rest now."

* * *

Sonic and Shadow appeared in the main power room of The Ark. The six emeralds dropped to the floor. Shadow ran to a computer and ran a systems check, "The cannon is out of commission. That idiot overloaded it."

Sonic patted The Master Emerald, "We still have this."

"Do you have any idea how to use that thing?"

Sonic looked at the emerald and scratched his head, "Ah! No!"

Shadow sighed, "You are hopeless!"

"Do you know?"

Before Shadow could answer, The Master Emerald began to pin on its own. "Guess it knows!" The emerald absorbed the two hedgehogs and vanished.

* * *

In a flash of light, Sonic and Shadow appeared above The Ark. Both were in their super forms. Sonic clenched his fists and his golden aura flared up, "I've never felt this much power before."

"We better hurry! We don't want to burn up all of our rings before we are done."

"Robotnik usually constructs his equipment with gold rings. We should be able to collect more as we smash his ships." The gold hedgehog shot forward and flew at the large fleet of ships.

Shadow's eyes narrowed, "I sense something." The silver hedgehog flew after Sonic, "The same energy source I sense when we fought Black Doom. It is very near."

Sonic stopped short of one of the pyramid shaped ships, "Energy shields!" A green sphere of energy surrounded each ship. Sonic curled into a ball and slammed into the field. It sparked and overloaded. Sonic smashed through the pyramid and it exploded. Several gold rings flew out of the wreckage and Sonic absorbed them, "This is pathetically easy." As he neared another one, a large metal fist slammed into his back. He spun around and spotted his attacker. It was a large red robot. "So this is what Robotnik did with Diablon."

Diablon's single robotic eye glowed with black light, "Priority one hedgehog confirmed." Diablon's arms shot up and twin beams of black light shot from each arm.

"Bring it!" Sonic flew at the beams. Before he impacted the beams, Shadow knocked him clear and dodged the attack. "What?"

"A black emerald powers this thing. Those beams will injure you even with your super power."

"Oh, thanks!" Sonic curled into a ball and shot at the robot. As he hit, a black energy field surrounded Diablon and he was blasted back. "Ok!" Diablon swung at him, but the hedgehog flew out of the way.

"We don't have time for this." Shadow's body glowed brightly, "Chaos Spear!" He threw out his hand and several spears of golden light shot from his hand. The spears impacted the field, but did little to them.

"Second target confirmed as Shadow." Several ports on Diablon's chest opened and several missiles shot from them.

"Chaos Field!" Shadow held out his hand and a sphere of light surrounded him. The missiles impacted and exploded. Shadow was knocked back and crashed into a pyramid ship. The ship exploded and Shadow was hit back further. He absorbed the rings around him, "I will not be beaten by a lame machine."

"Neither will I!" Sonic flew above the bot's head and shot straight at the top of it. He impacted the field, but this time he spun in place as he attempted to smash through it.

"Keep it up!" Shadow flew at the bot, "The field must be weakest at that point." He curled into a ball and slammed into the field in front of the Diablon. The field sparked around the bot as it reached for Shadow. The field collapsed and both hedgehogs got through. Sonic smashed into Diablon's head as Shadow hit the center of its chest.

Both hedgehogs flew clear as the bot sparked a little as the field appeared again, "Damage minimal."

"That thing is tough."

Shadow nodded, "Yes, but we know how to get past its field. Lets finish this bot and get back to work destroying Robotnik's ships." The bot's chest opened up and a large black emerald could be seen inside of it. "We should move!" A large beam of intense energy shot from the emerald at them. The hedgehogs managed to dodge the blunt of the attack, but the shockwave from the blast knocked them back. The beam ripped into several of Robotnik's ships and destroyed them. Both hedgehogs were quick to absorb all the rings they could.

"Got a new plan?"

As Diablon aimed its emerald at them, a large metal hedgehog shot out of space and landed on its head. The black energy field around the bot sparked at the entrance of the hedgehog and died. The hedgehog was made of blue metal with dark gray. It looked like a tanked up Metal Sonic. The hedgehog whipped his hands out and large blue metal blades shot out of his arms. They were attached to black chains and wrapped around the bot's head.

"No one is aloud to kill Sonic but me!" The metal hedgehog pulled and ripped the bot's head off. He flew away using thrusters under his quills as the bot's body exploded.

"Uh, thanks!"

Metal's eyes glowed a bright red as he pulled his blades back to him with their chains, "It is time to end this little war Sonic. Robotnik is no more. Now it is just you and me, like it should be."

Sonic smiled, "Sounds fun!"


	17. Rivals

"We should attack together." Shadow floated next to Sonic. "I can sense the energy from another black emerald inside of him."

"No! This just makes the fight fairer. You destroy the invasion ships." Shadow slowly nodded and flew towards the remaining pyramid ships. Sonic smiled, "Your move!"

"As you wish." Metal's body shined with dark energy and he shot forward at high speed. Metal attacked with speeds that even surprised Sonic. He swung his blades with skill and it took all of Sonic's speed to avoid the attacks. The metal hedgehog loved the worried look in the gold one's face. Sonic blocked both blades with his arms. Even in his super form, they hurt. He spun around and rammed both of his feet into Metal's face. He then curled into a ball and smashed Metal into the side of a ship. He passed through the shield and into the hull. Rings began to flow out and Sonic absorbed the ones he could. Metal's eyes glowed, "So you need rings to maintain your super form." Metal retracted his blades and ripped the pyramid ship apart. Several more gold rings floated out of the destroyed ship.

Sonic absorbed them all, "You've been helping me out a lot lately."

"If I just wanted to beat you I would have done it by now. I want to humiliate you. When this fight is over, you will acknowledge my superiority to you. Then and only then will I let you be killed."

"I feel so loved!" Sonic flew forward and launched a furry of kicks and punches. Metal blocked the attacks and countered with a strong fist to the face. He grabbed his leg as he fell back and flung him into another ship. Sonic crashed through it and it exploded. He absorbed as many rings as he could as Metal blasted through the debris. Sonic flew low and slammed into Metal with a spin attack. Metal used his thrusters to correct himself and attacked. Both hedgehogs curled into balls and crashed into each other.

* * *

Shadow destroyed several of the ships, but found himself a little too late. Six of the ships had already begun their descent. He looked around, there was about a hundred left. If he went after the six, more would enter the atmosphere. As he tired to make up his mind, a light of crimson shot through the six ships and they exploded. A crimson hedgehog flew towards a ship next to him and landed on it. His quills were twice as long as Sonic's and his sharp pointed knuckles had also grown. His fur, quills, and eyes were all glowing crimson. "Why am I not surprised?"

"You shouldn't have left such valuable emeralds just lying around."

"So you here to fight or help?"

"Both! I have every intension of killing you and taking my rightful place as the world's ultimate life form. But Leda would be sad if I let this pathetic planet get destroyed. So here I am."

"So we collect the rings and then get to the most important part."

"Killing each other?"

"Yeah!"

"Good!" The two began ripping apart the rest of the ships.

* * *

The hedgehogs slammed into each other high speeds as they approached the moon. Metal uncurled and activated his blades, "Give it up!"

Sonic uncurled and flew at what was left of Robotnik's moon base. He crashed through the hull and landed in the command room. "Ok! Now what?" He looked through the large hole he had made, "Where did he go?"

A metal hand busted through the metal floor and pulled him through to the lower level. He slammed the golden hedgehog so hard that he crashed through the lower floor. "And your reason for luring me here was?" Metal dropped through the hole and landed on top of Sonic. His blades was retracted and proceeded to punch the hedgehog in then face over and over.

Sonic grabbed both fists and rammed his head into Metal's head. The android barely moved while Sonic felt like head hit solid steel. "Ouch!"

"All these years. My creation, my obsession, everything I have based my AI on, was all a waste." He picked Sonic up and flung him across the small room and into a bunch of metal crates. Sonic hit the floor and the crates fell on top of him. Metal's eyes glowed red as his shoulders separated and a large blaster barrel rose from each shoulder. "All this time, you were just lucky." The barrels glowed with black energy as they powered up.

Sonic laughed and pushed himself up, "I just remember why I came here." He smashed his fists into a pair of crates. Gold rings flew out of them and hovered around him, "Robotnik kept a large store of rings here." He absorbed them and his golden aura tripled in size. "My super form is powered directly by The Master Emerald. So my power grows with every extra ring past the first fifty."

"Whatever!" Metal fired his blasters.

Sonic shot forward and hit the energy. The hedgehog flew through the beams and slammed his fist into Metal's face. He turned into a golden blur and impacted the android with over a hundred punches. Metal fell back and Sonic flew back, "Consider your life a failure now?"

The dents in Metal's body slowly began to repair themselves, "So you're not a complete failure." His blasters retracted into his shoulders, "But you still don't have the power to defeat me."

"Then I will just have to get more." The two charged each other.

* * *

In Earth's orbit, the two hedgehogs destroyed the last of the pyramid ships. After they had absorbed every ring that they could, they flew towards each other. Both their energy auras were extremely bright and powerful. Shadow's eyes narrowed, "Now that the distractions are out of the way."

"So how many rings have you managed to absorb?"

"About two thousand."

"Same here!"

"Then let's not waste our time." Both hedgehogs rushed each other and attacked each other with hypersonic punches and kicks. Shadow was stronger than Sonic while being slightly slower. At full speed he could outrun Sperk easily, but his reflexes were no better and Sperk had more muscle thanks to his echidna DNA. In short, Shadow knew he couldn't win in a fight like this. So far Sperk hadn't landed a blow, but his sharp knuckles did manage to hit him here and there. Shadow himself managed to hit his rival a few times.

"You can't avoid my attacks forever."

"Your inexperience will be your downfall." Shadow dodged an attack and rammed his foot into Sperk's chest. He flew back before Sperk could respond. "You still rely on your power and speed."

"Shut up!" They two continued to clash as they slowly fell towards the planet.

* * *

Sonic's and Metal's fists smashed into each other as they tried to hit one another. Move for move they copied each other. Sonic stepped back and shook his hands, "That new skin of yours is much harder than your last."

"Titanium with black emerald crystal mixed in. The more power I use, the stronger my armor."

"Cute!" Sonic and Metal continued the assault on one another. Sonic was far faster then Metal, but he was unable to do any real damage to the android. Metal on the other hand didn't need to land every blow. One punch was enough to severely hurt Sonic.

"You have finally met my expectations." Metal's forearms opened up and four gun barrels appeared. "Now die!" Energy bolts flew from the barrels at high speed.

"Not in the mood!" Sonic curled into a ball and spun around in the air. A small energy sphere covered him and the bolts bounced off it. The impacted Metal and made the android step back several feet. Sonic shot forward and slammed Metal off his feet. The android flew across the room and hit the far wall with such force, he crashed into the next room. Sonic ran through the hole to strike.

Metal intercepted him and tossed him into the floor. The android jumped into the air, "I think I will borrow a page from your book." He curled into a ball and rammed into Sonic. The force caused the floor to collapse and they both landed in a large cargo bay.

"Sonic Wind!" Sonic was quick to his feet and threw his shockwave of blue energy.

Metal ignored the energy and ran through it. It caused him little damage and he charged at Sonic. They locked hands, "You are a worthy foe, Sonic. But you are still a mammal. Your strength will exhaust, your will broken, and your body drained." He started to crush Sonic's hands, "Where as my power is constant, my will unyielding, and my body tireless. No matter how much we fight, you will lose."

Sonic smiled, "I may grow to be an old gray hedgehog confined to a wheelchair, but I will always."

"Always what?"

Sonic smile grew, "Be way past cool!" Sonic's aura doubled in size and he broke free of Metal's grasp. He curled into a ball and slammed into Metal. As he fell back, Sonic spinning increased and he hit him again. Metal hit the far wall and got imbedded in it. Sonic uncurled and stood at the other side of the wall, "Metal! Fighting with you has been and will always be fun." Sonic curled into a ball and began to rev up.

Metal tried in vain to pull himself free, "I look forward to defeating you the next time we meet."

"So do I!" Sonic started to glow brightly. "Hyper Spin Attack!" Sonic flew across the room like a gold missile. He shot through Metal and landed on the moon outside. What remained of Metal sparked and exploded. As he turned back towards the base to find more rings, a black emerald shot from it and flew into space. Sonic watched it go, "That can't be good."


	18. Chaos

Completely ignoring the heat, both hedgehogs continued to fight as they fell towards the planet. Between the increase of gravity and heat build up, Shadow's advantage against his stronger opponent was quickly diminished. Sperk began to land powerful blows and even in super form, Shadow felt each one. Shadow hit Sperk in the face with a chaos empowered punch. As Sperk fell back from the blow, he rammed his fist into Shadow's gut. Sparks flew as Shadow's super form prevented the sharp knuckles from impaling him. The two floated apart as the friction from their reentry began to increase. A silent truce was formed and the two curled into their ball forms. They shot through the upper atmospheres and hit normal air. They uncurled and plummeted towards the ground. Sperk opened his quills and started to control his decent. Shadow tried to use his chaos power to control his fall, but with his quills, Sperk was able to gaincontrol fasterand slam into him. As they fell, Sperk hammered punches into Shadow and the two fell into a bay next to a city. The water exploded into the air as the two continued to fight. Their combine chaos auras formed a dome that held the water back as it tried to reflow into the bay. Shadow rammed his head into Sperk's and jumped back. He curled into a ball and slammed into Sperk. The force sent Sperk into the air and he landed on top of a large skyscraper near the middle of the city. As the water flowed into the bay, Shadow flew into the air and shot at the building. Sperk got to his feet and started to focus energy into his fists.

"Master Spear!" Shadow's body flashed with gold light and hundreds of energy spears shot from his body. The spears impacted the top of the building and the entire roof of it exploded. Shadow stopped and watched the pillar of smoke from a distance, "No way that finished him. Chaos Control!" He entered Chaos Time. With a loud sonic boom going off, Shadow was slammed out of Chaos Time and crashed into the damaged building. He flew through several floors before crashing out of the other side. He stopped himself by using his power.

Sperk appeared was Shadow was floating before being hit, "And he said I had no skill." He shot through the hole Shadow had made through the building.

"Not bad!" Shadow flew to meet him and the two connected with a spin attack. With a large shockwave of energy, both hedgehogs fell out of the sky. The shockwave crashed into several buildings ripping them apart. Both hedgehogs landed on the street below. The street was disserted. Luckily the citizens of the city had long been hiding in the emergency shelters. The only thing Robotnik's invasion had done right.

"I'm stronger, faster, and have more power. Why can't I beat you?"

"Power isn't everything." Shadow's super form gave out, "Granted I wish I had a little more power."

Sperk started to move towards him, but his form died off as well, "This changes nothing."

"Enough!" A small shuttle landed behind Shadow and a red echidna ran out.

"Get out of her, Leda! Even without our super forms, this place isn't safe."

"That is enough. We are free and you have proven that you are a match for Sonic and Shadow." She walked past Shadow, "Can't we just leave?"

Shadow sighed and looked around, "She is right. We have nothing left to prove to one another." Sperk grumbled, but slowly nodded his head. Shadow turned away, "You better get lost before GUN returns."

"Let's go!" Leda hugged Sperk's arm.

"This is far from over." They both disappeared in a burst of green light.

Shadow rolled his shoulders and cracked the bones in his neck, "Just like always. Fight for the better part of the day and gain nothing in the end." The sky suddenly began to grow dark, "and the fun just never seems to end."

* * *

After collecting as many rings that he could find, Sonic flew towards Earth. He stopped as he spotted a large black storm growing on part of the planet, "That has to be a major storm if I can see it from this far." Several black emeralds flew past him and into the storm. Sonic flew towards the planet. As he reached the clouds, he was blasted back by red lightning. "What is this?" He tried again, but couldn't penetrate the lightning shield. Sonic took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

* * *

The wind started to blow violently as the storm clouds darkened the sky. Shadow ran on top of a small warehouse to get a better view. The water in the bay swelled up and formed a large creature made of red water. It had large arms and its lower torso was just a pillar of water. Dozens of black emeralds floated with in the creature. It had a single glowing red eye. "Black Doom!"

"Not quite Shadow." Its voice was a combination of Black Doom and Robotnik. "Apart we have failed to take over this miserable planet. But with the Chaos we created and the power of the black emeralds, we have more than enough power to destroy you and all that stand against us." A large fanged mouth formed on the shark like head. It spat out black energy that shot around the city. Red crystals appeared on the streets. "Black Arms, awaken from your slumber." Large black creatures exploded out of the crystals and began attacking the city.

"Hey Shadow!"

Shadow looked around, "Sonic?"

"The emerald has linked our minds. Cool huh?"

"Sure! I hope you have a plan."

"I do! Just keep him from moving."

"Moving? Sonic?" The voice was gone. Shadow looked out towards the towering creature, "Keep a two hundred-story monster made of water and chaos energy from moving. Sounds simple enough."

* * *

Sonic shot past Venus and Mercury. The golden hedgehog neared the sun and started to fly around it. He turned into pure light and shot around the sun at high speeds. The sun started to flash and flares from it erupted into Sonic's path. His ring of light turned into a ring of golden fire.

* * *

Shadow slammed into several Black Arms troops as he made his way towards the red chaos. There seemed to be hundreds of them and he was running into more and more as he went. Three dropped in front of his path. Each was eight feet tall with large red talons. They attacked him, but he managed to jump back. He warped into Chaos Time and quickly took the three down before they could react. He returned to normal time. Several more troops were running at him. "This is getting old." A large black metal case was dropped next to him. He turned to see Sperk standing with another case in his hand. "I'm not really in the mood for another round."

"Take those." He pointed to the case he had dropped.

Shadow cracked the case open and pulled out a gold ring. The case was full of them, "And the reason for you being so helpful."

"My girlfriend has a soft spot for other people." He had an annoyed look on his face. He rolled his shoulders, "and I can't stand it when she is sad."

"So you here to help or just drop off these?"

Sperk eyed the approaching Black Arms, "I do enjoy a good fight."

"There is plenty to go around. You keep the troops out of my quills. I'll handle the creature."

"You're welcome to it."

"Then lets go!" Both hedgehogs absorbed their rings and transformed into their super forms. Sperk charged the Black Arms troops as Shadow teleported to the chaos.

"Ah Shadow!" The chaos turned towards the floating hedgehog.

"This ends now Black Doom or whatever you call yourself."

"Just call us Demise." He opened his mouth and a large black beam shot from it. Shadow dropped down to avoid it. He curled into a ball and flew away. He turned and shot at Demise. The chaos spat out more energy beams. Shadow picked up speed and blasted through the chaos. He roared in pain as Shadow shot through his water body.

Shadow uncurled and flew above the creature, "Chaos Spear!" Energy spears shot from his hand and exploded on impact with Demise.

"Insolent rodent." One of the large arms flew out and slapped Shadow into the water.

Shadow flew out of the water and dodged several attacks from the chaos, "Hurry up Sonic!"


	19. Final Spin

The GUN Commander sat in his command chair as he watched video from Earth, "I just can't except that our fates are in the hands of those two hedgehogs. All this military power and I am helpless."

"Is Sonic all right?" Amy stepped up behind the command chair.

"I don't know! But I hope he is. If we lose Sonic, we lose."

* * *

Shadow had to fly high to avoid the pillars of water that Demise shot at him, "Master Spear!" Shadow's body glowed with light and hundreds of spears shot at Demise. The creature didn't bother to avoid the attack and the spears exploded against him. 

"Is that the best you can do?" Demise spat out several orbs of dark energy.

"For the moment." Shadow flew away, but the orbs followed him. The hedgehog maneuvered the best he could, but the orbs hit him and exploded. Shadow fell towards the water.

Demise caught him in one of his hands, "Your fate is sealed." Shadow's super form died off.

Shadow opened his eyes and started to laugh, "Maybe, but so is yours." He rolled off the hand and into the water.

"What?" The clouds above him parted and he was covered in golden light. Demise looked up and saw a gold fireball falling towards him. He was instantly blinded.

Sonic briefly appeared in the fireball, "Hyper Sun Spin!" Sonic disappeared in the fireball. Demise tried to move, but the light prevented him. The fireball hit him and exploded in a flash of blinding light. Shadow was knocked out.

* * *

Shadow coughed up some water as he was helped to his feet, "You!" 

Sperk smiled, "I saw you as I was passing through."

"Don't think I owe anything." Shadow stepped away and gasped. He was on what was left of a building. The entire bay was gone. Nothing but a large crater was left. Several of the buildings along the side had been incinerated. The sky was its normal blue color with white clouds. Shadow jumped off the building and ran to the center of the crater, "Sonic!"

A blue hedgehog pushed himself out of a small hole and laid on the ground, "Over here."

"You're alive!" Shadow ran to him, "Not bad!"

Sonic chuckled and glanced passed Shadow, "Could you stop him please."

Shadow turned and saw a dirty Robotnik trying to crawl out of the crater. Shadow smiled and knocked him out with a spin dash, "Nice try doctor." He rolled the fat man over to his back. The squid like Doom Eye was wrapped around his chest. The eye opened and flew at Shadow. It wrapped around his head, "Get off!"

"Your body shall make a fine replacement for the one he destroyed." Black Doom tightened his grip around the hedgehog's head.

Shadow fell to the ground, having trouble breathing. He just didn't have the strength left to fight. As he started to drift off, Sonic managed an well-aimed spin attack that sliced the eye in half. It fell off the hedgehog, "Thanks!" Both hedgehogs passed out.

* * *

Sonic woke up in a hospital bed. Both he and Shadow had been sleeping for almost a week. Amy Rose was sleeping in a chair across the large room, "I fail to see what that girl sees in you."

Sonic looked over to Shadow who was lying on a bed just three feet away, "My natural charisma." Both hedgehogs laughed. "So what now?"

"I return to The Ark." He looked over to the side table in-between the beds, "That pain in the neck." There were two Chaos Emeralds on the table.

Sonic smiled, "Why not hang out with me? Traveling the world."

"Why?"

"It is time you came out of that small space station and see the bigger world." Sonic sat up, "What do you have to lose?"

"What little self-dignity I have left." Shadow sat up and got out of the bed on shaky legs, "But you are an interesting hedgehog."

Sonic stood up and held his hand out, "And you're the only one who can keep up with me faker." They shook hands and fell back on their beds.

* * *

Knuckles and the rest of the gang greeted the two hedgehogs as they left the hospital. They had been laid up for three weeks. The echidna gave Sonic a high-five, "Great work you two. My emerald came out of that scrape without a scratch." 

"Thanks for the concern for our lives."

Knuckles gave Shadow a bear hug, "Oh I'm glad you guys lived."

"Please let go of me." Knuckles released the hedgehog and Shadow stepped back.

Tails handed Sonic an envelope, "The president wants to give you and Shadow a medal."

Sonic patted the small fox on the head, "Later. I've been staying still way too long."

Amy lunged at Sonic from behind, "Don't go now! You're finally well enough to take me out."

The blue hedgehog broke free from the girl's grasp, "Ah, bye!" He took off at full speed.

"Sonic!" Amy took off after him.

Shadow sighed, "I'm giving up a peaceful life on The Ark for this." He thought for a moment and shrugged, "But I won't be board." He followed Sonic.

* * *

Robotnik sat in his cell as the prepared the next phase of his trial, "Everything was so perfect. Back up plans on top of back up plans. I had the forces, the technology, and the brains. How does that hedgehog keep beating me?" 

"Because you're a fat lonely guy who needs robots to feel loved." Sonic was waving at Robotnik through the bars to his cell.

"You rodent!" He jumped to his feet and ran at the hedgehog. The chains attached to his legs tripped him and he fell to the cell floor.

"Bye!" Sonic ran down the corridor.

Robotnik pounded his fists into the ground, "I hate that hedgehog. I HATE THAT HEDGEHOG!"

**END**


End file.
